YARMOUTH – State police on Thursday searched for two brothers described as armed and dangerous after investigators seized a black car thought to be connected with a fatal shooting at a visitor information center.
The woman who owned a small black sedan that fit the description of the one used by the assailants was arrested, and her car was taken to the state police crime laboratory in Augusta, authorities said.
Meanwhile, police began looking for Shawn Hopkins, 27, and his younger brother, Ryan Hopkins, 22, both of Augusta. They are considered material witnesses to the shooting, said Stephen McCausland, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman.
The brothers were believed to be traveling with Vania Babikov, 22, of South Portland, in a 1996 silver Acura Integra, McCausland said. Arrest warrants were issued for all three, he said.
Julius Petrovic, 60, of Bretton Woods, N.H., was shot at close range as he sat in his parked sport utility vehicle late Monday afternoon at the Maine Tourist Information Center near Interstate 295.
Witnesses reported seeing a white man in a long-sleeve shirt fire a pistol through Petrovic’s window, then drive off with another man in a small black car.
Just before the shooting, witnesses reported seeing the two men urinating in the parking lot of the information center, which has rest rooms and is typically used by tourists, truckers and commuters.
Maine State Police used the description of the car, possible license plate numbers, and descriptions of the driver and passenger to sort through computer databases and winnow down possible leads.
That led to Penny Black, 28, of Old Orchard Beach, being taken into custody Thursday afternoon, McCausland said. She owned a black sedan like the one used by the assailants, the spokesman said.
The silver Acura Integra had a Maine license plate with the number 350 LB. Investigators described both brothers as 5-feet-10-inches tall with dark hair and brown eyes.
Shawn Hopkins is known to use the aliases of Jonathan Harris and Lance Vashon, while Ryan Hopkins is known to use the aliases Joshua Roberts and Joshua Dobbins, investigators said.
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