Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

Student admitted shootings, police say

By Craig Crosby ccrosby@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- A Chelsea man is facing charges in connection with several drive-by shootings in March.

William Casey Jones, 19, was charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct with a firearm, Augusta police Lt. Keith Brann said Wednesday.

Jones, who was arrested May 7, has since been released on $1,000 cash bail. He expected to appear June 29 in Kennebec County Superior Court.

Jones, who has admitted to the shootings, acted alone, Brann said.

Jones told police he threw the gun into the Kennebec River, Brann said. A state police dive team is expected search for the weapon.

The charges stem from a March 9 spree in which Jones allegedly shot at six houses and a moving vehicle while driving in Augusta and Chelsea.

The shootings occurred between 3 and 4 p.m. Nobody was hurt.

Augusta police first responded to three separate reports of drive-by shootings at two Cony Road homes and at a moving car on South Belfast Avenue.

While investigating those complaints, state police took reports of two houses being shot at in Chelsea.

The complaints were from Sulya Lane and Townhouse Road.

Bullet holes were found in two other Augusta homes in the days following.

Augusta police, who offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those responsible, got several leads over the next few weeks, Brann said. But all of those leads proved fruitless.

Augusta police Detectives Jason Cote and Vicente Morris took over the case in hopes that a fresh set of eyes might discover different angles to investigate, Brann said.

"They started from square one," he said. "It was great detective work."

Cote said the break came when police received information that Jones, a freshman at the University of Maine in Orono, was spotted with a .22-caliber handgun while home on spring break.

The caliber matched the weapon used during the shootings, Cote said.

"Jones made some comment that he'd used a firearm around town and they would find out what he did on the news," Cote said.

Cote and Morris talked to Jones in Orono approximately 10 days ago.

"The next day, he contacted us and let us know exactly what happened," Cote said.

Brann said Jones, who has no criminal record, is an unlikely candidate to have committed such a crime.

"He's a good kid, going to school, who made a bad decision," Brann said. "We got the indication he was going through a rough time in his life."

Cote said the shooting victims have all been told about the charges.

"They were ecstatic," he said.

Craig Crosby -- 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com