Man arrested, charged with murder after standoff in Lewiston

LEWISTON, Maine — A Lewiston man was arrested and charged with murder Saturday night following an hourslong standoff with police at a local residence, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Jerry Thibodeau, 36, is expected to make an initial appearance in Androscoggin District Court Monday after authorities charged him in the killing of 40-year-old Anthony Ayotte, the department said in a statement.

The incident comes just over a week after Robert R. Card II killed 18 people and injured 13 others Oct. 25, putting the city on edge.

The murder case is not related to last month’s shootings, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The two men knew each other, according to authorities, and Thibodeau is believed to have dropped off Ayotte Friday at the emergency room at St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston shortly after 7:30 p.m., according to the statement.

Authorities did not disclose the nature of Ayotte’s injuries, but he died at the hospital Saturday morning, according to the statement.

Ayotte’s body was transported to the state’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, where an autopsy is expected to be performed to determine the cause and manner of his death, the statement said.

On Saturday, detectives with Maine State Police and Lewiston police conducted interviews and collected evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Thibodeau, the statement said.

Authorities located Thibodeau at a residence on Sabattus Street around 5 p.m. Saturday, but he refused to leave the home, the statement said.

State Police’s Tactical Team and its Crisis Negotiation Team responded to the scene, and Thibodeau was taken into custody around 10 p.m. without incident, according to the statement. He was transported to the Androscoggin County Jail.