PORTLAND — A fugitive from Biddeford who exchanged gunfire with U.S. marshals in one of Portland’s most crowded neighborhoods Friday appeared in court Monday to face charges of attempted murder of a federal officer and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Arien L’Italien, 22, was shot and arrested near Sacred Heart Church in the Parkside neighborhood Friday night. The attempted murder charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and the firearm charge carries a maximum of 10 years.
L’Italien entered U.S. District Court with the assistance of a walker. His right hand was handcuffed to the walker and he avoided putting weight on his right foot. He remained seated during the brief proceeding and gave succinct replies to procedural questions from Magistrate Judge John Rich III.
As expected, L’Italien entered no pleas during his initial court appearance. He waived his right to a probable cause hearing and consented to federal detention.
Both the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Chapman, and L’Italien’s court-appointed lawyer, David Beneman, declined to comment on the case.
On Friday, members of the U.S. Marshal’s Violent Offender Task Force were searching for L’Italien in Parkside, a dense residential area. He was wanted on a charge of aggravated assault from a stabbing in Biddeford.
Marshals saw L’Italien and another man walking on Mellen Street toward Cumberland Avenue around 5:30 p.m. John Gill, a Scarborough police officer deputized as a marshal for the task force, told the men to stop, which they did momentarily before running away in different directions, according to an affidavit filed in the case by FBI Special Agent Patrick Clancy.
Gill yelled something to the effect of “Stop, or I’ll shoot,” and L’Italien turned toward Gill and raised his hand, according to the document.
“Gill then saw a muzzle flash coming from L’Italien and heard a gunshot followed by additional gunshots. Members of the arrest team then returned fire in L’Italien’s direction, firing several shots,” Clancy wrote.
One shot hit L’Italien in the leg and he went down on the pavement. He was treated at the scene and then taken to Maine Medical Center.
Clancy’s affidavit did not indicate which marshal shot L’Italien on Friday. The other three task force members were not named in the affidavit.
Briana Scalzone was cooking dinner in her apartment on Mellen Street when she heard six or seven loud noises. She assumed it was fireworks and didn’t think otherwise until she saw the street lined with police.
“As soon as I saw the cops, I was like, ‘I’m not going anywhere tonight. I’m staying in,'” she said Monday.
L’Italien is well known to Biddeford police, said Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk. He is the suspect in a New Year’s Day stabbing in which a 20-year-old man suffered a knife wound to the neck.
L’Italien has been convicted of assault on an officer and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. He is on probation for the theft conviction. He has misdemeanor convictions for offenses ranging from assault to criminal threatening to criminal trespass.
The Maine attorney general’s office is reviewing the use of deadly force by two task force members, whom it would not name. It referred questions to the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The attorney general’s office reviews all use of deadly force by law enforcement officers in Maine to determine whether criminal prosecution is warranted.
Neither Noel March, U.S. marshal for Maine, nor Clancy of the FBI, would provide additional information about the case.
Gill will be on administrative leave with pay while the Scarborough Police Department does its own review of the incident, said Chief Robert Moulton.
Gill served in the Air Force from 1981 to 2001 and was a special agent in charge of special investigations. He worked as a reserve police officer for Scarborough in the summer of 2001, joined Saco’s department as a full-time officer that November and then returned to Scarborough as a patrolman in 2003.
He has been assigned to the task force since mid-2007 in an arrangement in which the town pays his salary while the task force provides overtime pay, equipment and his vehicle, Moulton said.
The task force has made more than 500 arrests in Maine since its formation in July 2007, March said. He described the group as an elite unit that pursues suspects when violent histories, serious felonies or federal offenses are involved.
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