Brother of two killers indicted in assault, attempted murder

BANGOR – An 18-year-old who has said he wants to join two older brothers in prison, both of whom are serving 40-year sentences for murder, came a step closer Monday to getting his wish.

Aaron Heath of Bangor was indicted Monday by the Penobscot County grand jury for attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault for allegedly stabbing a 16-year-old male in May at an Essex Street apartment building. The youth he reportedly stabbed in the abdomen lost a kidney and suffered a liver laceration.

Heath is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 27 in Penobscot County Superior Court.

If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison and could join his siblings at the Maine State Prison in Warren.

Last month, Heath agreed to be tried as an adult in the stabbing incident, which occurred when he was 17. He has been held without bail at Penobscot County Jail since then.

Bail will be set at his arraignment, according to Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Larson.

Heath, who has spent much of his life in foster care, has told police that he wants to follow in the footsteps of his brothers, both convicted killers. The teenager allegedly told officers that when he turned 18, he intended to get a hammer and follow his brothers to prison.

Carl Wayne Heath, 24, of Fryeburg and Smokey D. Heath Jr., 29, of Fairfield each are serving 40-year sentences for killing a person with a hammer in separate incidents.

If Aaron Heath had faced the charges as a juvenile, he could have been sentenced to a juvenile facility until his 21st birthday, Penobscot County Deputy District Attorney Michael Roberts said in May.

“He’s really too old to benefit from what we could do for him in the system as a juvenile,” Roberts has said. “This was a very serious crime. Three years is not enough time to adequately deal with what he did or deal with what led to this crime, especially given the family history.”