(IntegrityPress.org) – A convicted criminal was shot to death by Maine police after going on a violent rampage that left another man dead and two houses burned to the ground.
In 2012 Leein Hinkley, 43, was sentenced to 20 years in prison with five years kept in suspension for stabbing his then-girlfriend as well as a bystander who tried to help her. Hinkley committed the violent attack in front of his and his victim’s 14-month-old baby, who he then snatched and fled the scene with. He was later subdued by members of his family and taken into custody. His victims survived the attack.
After being released before the end of his sentence, Hinkley was arrested once again for choking his current girlfriend and for violating the terms of his probation. He went before District Judge Sarah Churchill on May 24, who released him on bail after he had spent just over two weeks in jail without a lawyer.
At around 1.00am on Saturday, June 15, Hinkley broke into the house of an ex-girlfriend in Auburn, Maine. He then fought with a man inside the house, and his ex-girlfriend was able to escape through a window and call for help. Officers arrived at the scene ten minutes later and found her on the street near the home. The woman identified Hinkley as the intruder. Officers reported then seeing flames rising from the house and hearing shouting from within. Hinkley is reported to have opened fire on the officers, who called for tactical backup.
By 1.30 a.m., a neighboring house was also aflame and Hinkley was attempting to escape the scene. Police officers managed to corner Hinkley on a nearby rooftop at around 5.30 a.m. where they fatally shot him. By this point, several vehicles had also been destroyed by the fire. The man who Hinkley had initially fought is understood to have been killed.
The Maine Fraternal Order of Police released a joint statement with the Maine State Troopers Association in which they blamed Judge Churchill and her “poor judgement” for the death and destruction of Hinkley’s final night. They have demanded “accountability” for the judge who agreed to release Hinkley over his apparent inability to source a public defender in a timely fashion.
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