Those who were targeted in a series of drive-by shootings Saturday night in three central Maine communities all have a connection to the suspect’s former girlfriend, according to court documents.
Dana S. Dasilva, left, Michelle N. Luce
Dana S. Dasilva and his girlfriend, Michelle N. Luce, both 25 and of Skowhegan, were arrested and charged in connection with the gunfire at residences in Winslow, Waterville and Clinton.
Dasilva took shots from the backseat of Luce’s dark pickup truck while she drove, according to Deputy Chief William L. Bonney of the Waterville Police Department.
Dasilva and Luce made their initial court appearances Monday afternoon in Augusta, where District Attorney Meaghan Maloney recommended Dasilva be charged with Class B reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and Class C possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.
Maloney also asked that Dasilva remain in jail on a probation hold.
Maloney recommended Luce be charged with Class C reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, saying Luce agreed or attempted to plan and commit the alleged crimes.
“The investigation is still ongoing and I expect that other charges will be brought to the grand jury,” said Maloney, who said she still must review all of the police reports before making additional recommendations.
Some of the additional charges could stem from the discovery of 600 grams of powdered substances found during a search of Luce’s apartment in Skowhegan, according to Chief David Bucknam of the Skowhegan Police Department.
Bucknam said he believed Dasilva also lives at the apartment, which Bucknam said is at 16 Winter St. but that court documents put at 17 Winter St.
The substances were “in plain view at the residence,” according to Bucknam, and are being sent to the Department of Health and Human Services laboratory for testing.
No one was injured Saturday night when shots were fired at least one vehicle and several homes. One man was almost hit by a bullet that entered his Waterville home.
Dasilva’s apparent targets Saturday night included an ex-girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend, with whom she shares a child, according to court documents.
Those documents also show that Dasilva shot at the ex-boyfriend’s parents and the sister of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend. That boyfriend told police Dasilva had beaten the ex-girlfriend in the past, and that he would argue with Dasilva over it, according to an affidavit filed by Waterville police Officer Damon Lefferts.
Dasilva told police he “felt that he had to shoot at these locations to protect himself from past differences and threats he had from the associated persons at the specific locations he went to,” Lefferts wrote in the affidavit.
Dasilva also said he was attempting to shoot vehicles, not buildings, when he fired the gun, according to police. He told police he obtained the gun from a friend earlier Saturday, according to court documents. Police later found the firearm at Luce’s apartment in Skowhegan, according to Lefferts.
Police arrested Dasilva on charges of Class B aggravated reckless conduct, Class B attempted elevated aggravated assault, Class C aggravated criminal mischief and Class C possession of a firearm as a prohibited person, according to Bonney. Dasilva was also issued a probation hold.
Luce was arrested on one count of Class B hindering apprehension, for her alleged role in the crimes.
Police said Dasilva targeted four sites Saturday night, in the following order: Whipple Street in Winslow, Elmwood Avenue and May Street in Waterville and Hinckley Road in Clinton.
Winslow police officers responded to Whipple Street at about 8:20 p.m., after several people reported multiple shots being fired, according to an affidavit from Winslow Police officer Matthew Buck.
Buck and another Winslow officer could not find any shell casings in the area and eventually left the scene, according to police. When they returned to the Whipple Street house later in the night, the officers later noticed a bullet hole in the siding and a hole in the bumper of a vehicle parked near the house.
Dasilva’s ex-girlfriend once lived at that house, and the ex-boyfriend with whom she shares a child lives there now, according to court documents.
At about 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Waterville police were dispatched to Elmwood Avenue for a report of shots being fired. Police said shots were fired at a house occupied by Dasilva’s ex-girlfriend’s sister and her boyfriend.
“It appeared to the officers on scene that someone drove by the residence and shot 2 bullets in a parked SUV in the driveway,” Lefferts wrote in the affidavit, referring to the silver Ford Escape its owner described previously to the Morning Sentinel.
“One of the rounds went through the SUV, struck a snow shovel and may have become lodged in the side of the apartment building.”
The owner of the vehicle said she had no familial connection to the individuals allegedly targeted by Dasilva.
While officers responded to the Elmwood Avenue incident, Dasilva allegedly fired into a house on May Street, striking the chair in which a male resident was seated. The parents of Disilva’s ex-girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend live at that house and own the Whipple Street property in Winslow.
A report of shots fired at a residence on Hinckley Road in Clinton, where Dasilva’s ex-girlfriend lives, came in just after about 9 p.m.
Bonney, Waterville’s deputy police chief, described a “full-court press to identify the shooter and get that person apprehended” at that point. State Police located and arrested Dasilva and Luce at 11:08 p.m. outside Dasilva’s mother’s house on Alder Street in Skowhegan, according to Bucknam.
Dasilva told police Luce “was freaking out” about driving him around during the shootings, according to Lefferts’ affidavit. Dasilva also said he “never cohered (sic) Michelle to keep driving him or threatened her to drive him or he would hurt her.”
Luce said she only remembered driving Dasilva to the Clinton residence, which is where his ex-girlfriend lives, Lefferts wrote.
Dasilva and Luce are scheduled to appear at 2 p.m. on March 12 at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta, according to Maloney.
Dasilva has a criminal record in Maine that includes convictions for assault, domestic violence assault, violating conditions of release, refusing to submit to arrest or detention and violating a protection from abuse order.
A search of Luce’s name did not turn up any convictions.
Judge Eric Walker set Dasilva’s cash bail at $100,000. Because of the probation hold, however, he would not be released even if he were to post bail.
The judge granted Maloney’s request for $10,000 cash bail for Luce, but said he would allow a $5,000 cash bail if Maine Pretrial Services decides to offer Luce a contract. No pleas were entered.
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