Four more men charged in connection with a deadly shooting in Portland this summer have pleaded not guilty.
The men each face two counts of aggravated assault and one count of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm after 54-year-old Susan McHugh of Gray was killed in an attack in Morrill's Corner between rival motorcycle clubs. But police are still searching for a sixth man who has eluded law enforcement for weeks.
The Attorney General's Office confirmed Jason Keenan, 45, of Bath; James Moody, 30, of Bowdoin; Caleb Pelkey, 33, of Portland; and Nathan Walsh, 48, of Lewiston, all appeared in Cumberland County Superior Court Thursday morning for their arraignments and pleaded not guilty.
A fifth man facing the same charges – Kaleb Cidre, 22, of Windham – also pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week. According to the Cumberland County Jail, they have all posted bail of $10,000 cash each and are no longer in custody.
All five men were arrested in November, weeks after 47-year-old Aaron Karp of Naples pleaded not guilty to McHugh's murder on July 20.
Karp is accused of shooting and killing McHugh during a dispute between the two clubs that stemmed from a fight at a Westbrook bar the same day. Karp is being held without bail in the Cumberland County Jail.
That night, prosecutors said, McHugh fired a single bullet at a group of outlaw members who were attacking her husband, Troy, her son, Travis Frechette, and her friend, William Holmes.
Aaron Karp made his first appearance in Cumberland County Superior Court in August. Screenshot from the lawsuit courtesy of NEWS CENTER Maine
A Portland detective who testified at Karp's bail hearing in September said he saw Karp return fire on surveillance camera footage and shoot McHugh nine times in the Forest Avenue parking lot where the shooting occurred.
Holmes and Troy McHugh were hospitalized with skull fractures.
Karp's lawyer Verne Paradie said at the bail hearing that no witnesses had identified Karp as the shooter – only blurry security camera footage. He also suggested that the disagreement was provoked earlier in the day by Troy McHugh, Frechette and Holmes when they attacked some members of the motorcycle group Higher Calling on the back patio of Westbrook's Brookside Food and Drink.
Although it is not clear exactly how the six suspects were connected to the shooting, at least some of the men have been accused of participating in the Portland attack along with Karp.
Police are still searching for Kristofer Haken, 45, of Londonderry, New Hampshire. Portland police said he may be affiliated with the Outlaws motorcycle club and described him as “dangerous and possibly armed.”
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