An Athens man and woman have been charged with burglary and theft following a July 26 incident in that town involving the shooting of a New York man who survived his wounds, according to police.
Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said Mark H. Courtemanche, 40, of Athens, was charged Wednesday with one count of burglary, a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison; and with one count of theft, a class E misdemeanor. Also charged was Sonya Engelhardt, 41, also of Athens, with one count of burglary, class B; and one count of theft.
The two were issued summonses to appear Dec. 13 in court in Skowhegan and were not arrested. Lancaster said they are alleged to have stolen fuel to run a camp on an unimproved road off Dore Hill Road in Athens.
He would not say what connection they have with the shooting at the camp the night of July 26.
Lancaster said he still could not release details of what investigators know, only that the unidentified New York man had been shot in the buttocks and had lost a lot of blood. The man was released from the hospital and since then has returned home to New York, where he remains, Lancaster said.
Police attention to the matter began about 9:15 p.m. July 26, when the Somerset County Communications Center received a call from a woman who said she had picked up a man on the side of Route 150 somewhere in the Cornville area. The man said he had been shot.
The woman told police that she did not know the man. Route 150 runs from Skowhegan through Cornville, Athens and Harmony before continuing north to Guilford in Piscataquis County.
County deputies, Skowhegan police and Redington-Fairview EMS responded and intercepted the car at the intersection of Route 150 and Molunkus Road. The man, who had a New York address, was taken to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and later taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, according to Lancaster.
The sheriff would not say what the circumstances of the shooting were.
“Sonya Engelhardt was operating the vehicle on the night of the shooting,” Lancaster said. “This is still an active investigation and I have no other information that can be released at this time. The original statement from the female operator who had picked up an unknown male on the side of the road on Route 150, who had been shot, differed from what the investigation has revealed.”
Originally, the sheriff’s office did not know the location of the shooting, Lancaster said. Detectives have been able since then to determine that the shooting took place earlier in the evening of July 26 at the camp off Dore Hill Road.
The camp owner was identified and the investigation revealed that he had no involvement in or knowledge of the incident, nor had he given anyone permission to use the camp, according to Lancaster.
Courtemanche and Engelhardt are scheduled for an initial court appearance at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 13 at Somerset County Unified Court.
“The sheriff’s office is working with the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office as this investigation continues,” Lancaster said. “This is still a very active investigation, and we anticipate that there will be more charges as the investigation into the alleged burglary and shooting that occurred on July 26, 2017, continues.”
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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