The suspect in a slaying four years ago in Portland was arrested in California early Tuesday morning after a traffic stop.
Aristotle Stilley Portland Police Department
Portland police will seek to have Aristotle Stilley, 23, formerly of South Portland, extradited to Maine where he will face a murder charge in the March 15, 2016, shooting death of 36-year-old David Anderson in an apartment on Gilman Street.
Stilley was taken into custody on a warrant in Sacramento, California. Portland police announced Stilley’s arrest in a news release Tuesday afternoon.
“I could not be more proud of the diligence and dedicated work done by so many here in the Portland Police Department, as well as the critical, collaborative effort with our law enforcement partners literally across the nation,” Portland Police Chief Frank Clark said in a statement. “We are happy that David’s family is able to see his murderer brought one step closer to justice.”
Anderson’s foster sister, Dawn Amber Sellars, said her family was relieved that there had finally been an arrest in the case.
“I can breathe again. It was so hard not knowing,” Sellers said in a telephone interview Tuesday evening from her home in Terre Haute, Indiana. “It really hasn’t hit me. For four years, not knowing who the person was who killed my best friend … It’s a relief.”
David Anderson
Stilley was indicted Aug. 7 by a Cumberland County grand jury, but the indictment was sealed and his case was turned over to the Maine Attorney General’s Office for prosecution, said Marc Malon, spokesman for the AG’s office, in an email Tuesday.
The next step will be to determine whether Stilley will waive extradition. If he refuses, Maine will seek to have him extradited from California, Malon said. Assistant Attorneys General Bud Ellis and Leanne Robbin will prosecute the case.
Stilley was being held without bail as a fugitive from justice Tuesday night at the Sacramento County North Main Jail. Jail records indicated he is scheduled to make his initial court appearance in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday at 3 p.m.
Stilley was driving when police pulled over his vehicle for a traffic violation around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, Sacramento police said in an email. He was arrested without incident, police said. County jail records show he was also being held for possession of narcotics, a misdemeanor.
Anderson was shot just after 11 p.m. four years ago after a person knocked repeatedly on the door of an apartment at 88 Gilman St. and then fired several rounds through it. The shots killed Anderson and wounded another person in the thigh. That individual recovered.
The building is owned by the nonprofit group Shalom House, which is headquartered a few doors away.
The gunman paused after the shooting to collect spent shell casings that could have been used as evidence, according to a police affidavit obtained by the Press Herald in June 2016. The affidavit also said there were five people inside the apartment when the shooting took place and that one of them dropped a gun out a window.
Video surveillance released by Portland police showed that the gunman never entered the apartment and was standing in the corridor with his back to the peephole when Anderson went to the door to see who had knocked. The surveillance footage shows a man dressed in dark clothing, a hood, a red patterned hat and white sneakers.
The police affidavit said at least six shots were fired through the wooden door and two struck Anderson. When police arrived they found Anderson lying on the bathroom floor.
Sellars said her brother went by the nickname of Shycago Stone Anderson. He graduated from Terre Haute North Vigo High School and studied at the University of Southern Maine.
She described her older brother, who was not married, as a kind man.
“He had so many people who loved him,” Sellars said.
In 2016, Anderson’s most recent address was listed as the Oxford Street Shelter in Portland, although he signed a court document on Jan. 29, 2016, that listed his address as 114 Gilman St.
Portland police said they been actively investigating the case since the night of the shooting, and have coordinated with the Maine State Police, the FBI’s Southern Maine Gang Task Force and the federal Department of Justice. After the arrest warrant was issued, Portland police said they worked closely with the Sacramento Police Department’s Career Criminal Apprehension Unit as well as the U.S. Marshals’ Office to locate Stilley.
Stilley has a criminal record in Maine, according to a copy of his criminal history provided by the State Bureau of Identification. He was incarcerated at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland in October 2016 on an assault charge, according to the records.
Portland police currently have 15 unsolved homicides on the books. Each case has been assigned to an investigator who continues to follow up with witnesses. Cases are often reviewed to see if evidence that was collected from the scenes can be examined using new technology or forensic examinations.
If anyone has information that could help Portland police solve one of these homicides, please call (207) 874-8575 or leave an anonymous tip on the department’s tip line at (207) 874-8584.
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