Arsonist and police-killed shooting suspect released on bail, police say

AUBURN – A Lewiston man was shot and killed on a Russell Avenue rooftop early Saturday morning after breaking into a home, fighting with a man, setting two houses on fire and firing at police, officials said.

Leein Amos Hinkley, 43, was killed Saturday morning after a standoff with local and state police. Hinkley was released Wednesday on $1,500 bail on probation violation charges and violent crimes dating back to 2011 and May 2024.

The Maine State Police and the Auburn Police Department held a joint press conference Saturday afternoon to provide some details about the incident that left a dead gunman, two burned homes, a missing man and a shaken neighborhood.

Auburn Deputy Police Chief Tim Cougle said dispatch received a call around 12:57 a.m. from a woman at a home on Russell Avenue who reported that her partner had been arguing with a man who was trying to break into her home.

“This woman’s partner is currently missing,” Cougle said.

Cougle said gunshots were heard over the phone and when police arrived on the scene, dispatch reported the woman had escaped from her home through a window.

Auburn Deputy Police Chief Tim Cougle (right) and Maine State Police Col. William Ross speak at a news conference Saturday about an incident in which a gunman, Leein Amos Hinkley, 42, of Lewiston, broke into a home on Russell Avenue in Auburn, shot a woman and a man, and set fire to the home and a nearby second home early Saturday morning. The incident ended in a standoff in which police shot and killed the gunman. Joe Charpentier/Sun Journal

Auburn police found the woman at 1:09 a.m. in a home further down Russell Avenue. Around the same time, police discovered the woman’s home on fire and heard screaming coming from the house, Cougle said. About a minute later, the woman identified Hinkley as the man who tried to break into her home.

Hinkley began firing at Auburn police and Androscoggin County Sheriff’s officers around 1:15 a.m. and began yelling at officers from inside the building a few minutes later. A Maine State Police response team arrived to assist shortly thereafter.

Hinkley fired a second volley of gunfire at about 1:27 a.m. and fled the home when emergency responders discovered a second house on fire.

Hinkley sought shelter in a neighboring garage and fled again when the homeowner alerted the police.

Local resident Gillian Johnson told the Sun Journal that her power went out around 2 a.m. and she heard what sounded like fireworks or firecrackers.

“(Then) we saw a fire outside the window,” Johnson said. “At first we thought it was some kids making a mistake and just playing around, but at 2:40 a.m. over 20 police units showed up. About 30 minutes later, SWAT and sniffer dogs and a drone were there.”

State Police Col. William Ross said that after escaping from the garage, Hinkley climbed to the roof of a residence at 33 Russell Avenue, where he remained until about 5:36 a.m., when state police shot and killed him.

State troopers Scott Duff and Patrick Hall have been placed on administrative leave while the Attorney General’s Office investigates, Ross said. The Attorney General’s Office investigates all officer-involved shootings. The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit is investigating the underlying criminal matter and conduct, he said.

“It was very scary,” said Hosannah Cousineau, who lives down the street. After calling 911 twice about the fire, she couldn’t understand why no fire trucks came. She was told to take shelter and stay away from windows.

At around 5:30 a.m., the suspect appeared on a rooftop and yelled, “Time for a story! Nobody wants to hear the truth. I just want my family with me,” Cousineau said.

Then a task force arrived and shot Hinkley.

“I watched it all from my backyard,” Cousineau said. “The sounds were horrific — a loud whooshing noise and then loud bangs as propane (or) oil tanks exploded! And the flames were so high… We were afraid the fire was going to spread to our house. Unfortunately, I saw the end of it — I really thought they were going to arrest him. I wasn’t expecting to see a death on a roof from my living room window. I’m kind of in shock.”

Cousineau said she heard the female victim crying while on the phone several hours later. She was glad to have escaped but was dismayed that her house burned to the ground with all her belongings. Cousineau said she had received messages from people who knew Hinkley and that he had recently been released from prison.

Ross said at Saturday’s news conference that prosecutors objected to Hinkley’s reduced $1,500 bail and house arrest, which was issued Wednesday. Conditions of Hinkley’s release included that he remain at 90 No Name Pond Road in Lewiston except for legal, medical or work reasons, that he not drive on Russell Avenue and that he not have contact with Morgan Vellaro, who is listed in Auburn’s tax database as the owner of 5 Russell Ave.

The restraining order against Vellaro was the result of an arrest on May 24 for aggravated assault and domestic violence.

Col. Ross said Hinkley violated his probation on the May charge and a 2011 conviction for aggravated assault in connection with domestic violence.

“He was held without bail for violating probation. Despite the prosecution’s objection, the court reduced his bail to $1,500 and placed him under conditions such as house arrest,” Ross said.

Hinkley previously served a 20-year prison sentence. five years probation, for stabbing his ex-girlfriend and a man who tried to intervene in 2011.

Good Samaritan John Clark of Lisbon responded to yelling coming from a vehicle parked in his driveway on February 27, 2011. As he approached the car, Clark discovered Hinkley in the passenger seat hitting Jennifer Alexander, who was in the driver’s seat. A third passenger, Alexander and Hinkley’s 14-month-old baby, was in the back seat of the vehicle.

Alexander, already bleeding from stab wounds, begged Clark to call 911. As Clark tried to free Alexander, Hinkley stabbed him in the shoulder with a pocket knife. After Clark managed to free Alexander, Hinkley fled the scene with the couple’s baby.

Hinkley was eventually overpowered by his family at their home in Sabattus after he took a shotgun and ammunition and fled the house toward the woods behind the house.

Hinkley’s father, Leon Hinkley, said his son had been claiming for several weeks that he wanted to commit suicide.

At the sentencing hearing on July 31, 2012, Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Worden argued for a 20-year prison sentence, saying Alexander lived in constant fear. Out of fear, Alexander remained in the District Attorney’s office during the hearing.

“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Hinkley was not recognized for the ticking time bomb that he is,” Worden said at the sentencing. “Someone in the court system should have been paying attention. We could have done better.”

Writers Mark LaFlamme and Marla Hoffman contributed to this report.

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