Man pleads innocent to murder charge

A Texas man charged with murder pleaded innocent to that charge Friday in Penobscot County Superior Court in Bangor.

Chester McAvoy, 65, of Burnet, Texas, was brought under guard from the Penobscot Cunty Jail and appeared briefly in court to enter pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Earlier this month, McAvoy was indicted by a Penobscot County grand jury on the charge of murder for the Nov. 11 death of James Goodwin, 37, of Lee. The defendant is being held without bail.

The pleas were heard by Justice Donald Alexander, who allowed McAvoy’s attorney, Richard Broderick Jr. of Lincoln, to file motions in February following a psychiatric examination scheduled for next month. The examination was ordered by the District Court.

McAvoy allegedly told police during an interview that he shot Goodwin after an argument. The dispute reportedly was over a promise made by Goodwin to fix McAvoy’s truck in return for McAvoy’s fixing Goodwin’s roof.

Goodwin was found dead at his home from a single shotgun blast to the face, according to authorities.

A Lincoln man charged with manslaughter in connection with a January fatal accident also pleaded innocent to that charge.

Kurt Spinney, 27, remains free on personal recognizance after making a brief appearance in Superior Court. He was represented at his arraignment by his attorney, Bruce Mallonee of Bangor.

Spinney allegedly was backing his loaded log truck across Route 2 in Lincoln and into his driveway around 6 p.m. on Jan. 5, when a woman driving her car collided with the truck and was killed.

Dallas Parker, 57, of Passadumkeag died at the scene.

The accident occurred when it was dark, and the truck was overloaded and had defective lights on it, according to a prosecutor handling thecase. Locating witnesses and technicalities with the woman’s estate delayed Spinney’s indictment until earlier this month, according to Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney.

In other court activity, Justice Alexander delayed sentencing Randy Millay, 26, of Machiasport on a charge of stealing a motor vehicle, after the defendant’s girlfriend told the judge that Millay hadn’t understood what sentence he would get for pleading guilty to the charge.

The judge instead ordered that Millay undergo a mental examination to determine his competency.

Millay was one of two men arrested by police earlier this month after a three-hour standoff at a Brewer motel. The man had failed to show up in court in October for sentencing on the motor vehicle theft charge, to which he pleaded guilty in July.

On Friday, Millay pleaded innocent to a charge of possesion of a firearm by a felon and was to be sentenced on the theft charge. Millay’s girlfriend, Suzanne Millay, told Alexander, however, that the defendant was dyslexic and handicapped. She said Millay had thought he was going to get a nine-month sentence when he pleaded guilty and became frightened by the possibility of a five-year sentence.

Though Millay indicated through his attorney, Norman Toffolon of Machias, that he wanted to be sentenced, Alexander nonetheless ordered the mental examination.