PORTLAND, Maine — The proceeding began Friday to decide if a South Portland teenager who is accused of planning a shooting at South Portland High School should be tried as a juvenile or an adult.
The state presented three witnesses Friday.
First on the stand was one of the teen's friends, who said he was asked to be the second shooter but instead went to the police.
Next on the stand was a detective, who executed a search warrant back in April, notably recovered items during the search, and removed them from the home, including a drawing of a lynching that had words that celebrated violence, tactical gear like a vest with armored plates, and weapons that were casually available around the house.
Finally, Dr. Stephanie Leite took the stand, an expert in threat assessments for mass shootings. She emphasized the concern that he doesn't just have an interest in previous mass shooters and shootings, but he "emulates" them by using similar social media handles and creating and sharing memes about the combine glorifying them.
Another concern Leite shared was the teen's willingness to act on ideas and take them to an extra step. One particular incident she described was a video that allegedly showed him not just deploying a Molotov cocktail, but then moving it closer to public property to cause more damage.
Leite said when the teen is feeling isolated, he tends to lean into white supremacy rather than into his church group, which he supposedly has a close relationship with.
The defense tried to show that the doctor's testimony wasn't reliable because she never interviewed the teen accused of these crimes nor did she review any evidence painting him in a positive light.
She countered that by saying she had enough negative data points to assess him as a high threat level regardless of any positive examples.
The defense will put its witnesses on the stand Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. at the Cumberland County Superior Court.