A South Portland man pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday to six charges, including two counts of murder, following the shooting deaths of two people in Westbrook in June.
Marcel A. LaGrange Jr., 24, is accused of killing Brittney Cockrell, 37 and Michael Hayter, 41, both of Westbrook. Police say the couple was shot to death in front of their children — ages 7 and 11 — on Main Street around 8:30 p.m. June 19.
At the Cumberland County Courthouse on Thursday, LaGrange — who appeared via video from the Maine State Prison in Warren pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible because of insanity to the charges.
Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman did not set bail and said that would be decided at a later date.
LaGrange was represented at the brief court hearing by Portland defense attorney Tina Heather Nadeau and Jennifer Ackerman represented the prosecution.
On Aug. 10, a Cumberland County grand jury returned indictments on two counts of intentional or knowing murder; one count of aggravated attempted murder; one count of aggravated assault; one count of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.
The indictment alleges that LaGrange shot at the 11-year-old boy and that he “intended to cause multiple deaths.”
Police say there’s no known connection between LaGrange, Cockrell and Hayter.
On the night of the shooting, Westbrook police responded to a report of shots fired near the intersection of Main and Bridge streets. When they arrived, they saw LaGrange shooting Cockrell near a vehicle in a parking lot off Bridge Street, according to Maine State Police.
Police chased LaGrange down Main Street toward Armory Apartments, where LaGrange allegedly assaulted Fred Roukey, 75, of Westbrook before being tackled and disarmed by several other bystanders.
Roukey was taken to Maine Medical Center with minor injuries, police said.
Hayter’s body was discovered inside the vehicle in the parking lot off Bridge Street, while Cockrell was outside the vehicle when she died, police said.