Man indicted in shooting of police officer

PORTLAND – A man accused of shooting one of the officers who tried to arrest him at a South Portland apartment last month faces charges including aggravated attempted murder, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Terrel Dubois, 22, of Portland was indicted on two counts of aggravated attempted murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, Cumberland County Assistant District Attorney Bud Ellis told reporters.

Dubois also was indicted on charges of elevated aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and aggravated trafficking in drugs.

In addition, the state is seeking to confiscate his car, gun and $1,210 in cash found at the apartment on grounds they were used in a criminal enterprise.

Police say Dubois opened fire when four officers tried to serve an arrest warrant on Oct. 11. Dubois and South Portland officer Steven Connors were hit multiple times in the brief gun battle after the officers entered an apartment in which he’d been staying.

Connors, who was hit four times, was treated at the hospital and released the same night. He’s expected to make a full recovery, South Portland Police Chief Ed Googins said.

Dubois, who spent more than three weeks at Maine Medical Center, was released earlier this week and transferred to Cumberland County Jail, Ellis said.

The new charges are in addition to those for which officers were originally trying to serve the arrest warrant: kidnapping, criminal threatening and terrorizing, all related to a domestic violence incident, as well as violation of bail conditions.

After the shooting, police obtained a search warrant and recovered a handgun that they believe Dubois used, along with drugs and cash.

The Attorney General’s Office is investigating the shooting, as it does in all incidents in which an officer uses deadly force. Its findings about the incident had not been released as of Thursday, said Assistant Attorney General Chuck Dow.