Mechanic Falls man denies shooting county sheriff in leg during domestic incident in Minot

AUBURN – A Mechanic Falls man accused of attempting to murder a county sheriff in a Minot home denied those charges Friday, as well as other charges related to a February incident.

Corey Hamel submitted photo

Corey Hamel, 43, pleaded not guilty to five counts in Androscoggin County Superior Court via videoconference from the York County Jail, where he is being held without bail pending a parole revocation hearing. His bail on the new charges was set at $1 million.

Hamel is accused of attempted murder of a police officer and grievous bodily harm. Both charges are punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

He was also charged with unauthorized theft of a firearm, a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison.

The charges of reckless handling of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

An Androscoggin County grand jury issued an indictment in May containing the allegations.

Defense attorney Justin Leary said he plans to have Hamel undergo a private psychological evaluation.

Last spring, the court ordered an assessment of Hamel’s mental capacity.

Officers with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance complaint at a home located at 1089 Woodman Hill Road in Minot around 4 a.m. on February 14.

One of the officers, Sergeant Randy Williams, was shot in the right thigh by gunfire aimed at several vehicles in the driveway, authorities said.

Hamel, a carpenter, lived in the house of his boss, James Harlow.

Hamel had argued with his girlfriend Tiffany Morin earlier in the night and had gone into the bedroom of Harlow’s wife, Trudy, police said.

Trudy Harlow later told police that Morin entered her bedroom around 3:30 a.m. and said Hamel put a gun to her head and tried to shoot her.

Morin told police that Hamel tried to get into the bedroom, then she saw smoke in the kitchen, police reported.

Morin and the Harlows left the house through a back door.

James Harlow told police he wasn’t sure if the bang he heard was gunfire, but feared Hamel had shot or might shoot the women.

Outside, Harlow was moving some vehicles when he saw a male and female deputy trying to move people away from the fire.

Harlow said he heard Hamel yell “Happy Valentine’s Day, you motherfuckers” and walked into the driveway. Hamel then fired several shots and the male deputy was hit, police said.

Harlow tried to get his 9 mm from a truck, but the holster was empty, he told police. Hamel knew Harlow kept a gun there, Harlow said.

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