ALFRED

A Sanford man has been charged with felony murder for allegedly causing a Wells woman to have a heart attack during a home burglary in March 2015.

Carlton Young, 24, was indicted by a York County grand jury Tuesday. Police said the victim, Connie Loucks, 62, suffered a heart attack while on the telephone with relatives as burglars were breaking into her home for the second time in as many days.

Wells Police Lt. Kevin Chabot said that Young was among four young people who were arrested on March 25, 2015, and charged with a spate of burglaries and thefts in Wells, Alfred and Lyman.

A murder conviction carries a minimum prison term of 25 years. An arraignment date for Young has not been set.

According to Maine statutes, a person is guilty of felony murder if, acting alone or with others in the commission or attempted commission of various felony crimes, causes the death of another, and the death is a reasonable foreseeable consequence.

It is a charge not often seen in Maine — in fact, Wells Police in an interview Tuesday referred to a case that took place in Portland more than 30 years ago.

According to Chabot and Wells Police Det. Todd Bayha, Young and three others had allegedly burglarized Loucks’ home, stealing jewelry, on March 24 when Loucks was not at home. She reported the burglary to police on March 25.

Sometime later on the same day, Young and the others allegedly broke in again, this time while Loucks was home. Chabot said based on stress induced by the combination of the two burglaries, Loucks suffered a fatal heart attack while on the phone with a relative. Police arrived, but were unable to revive her.

According to her obituary, Loucks had worked for New York Telephone for many years. Married, she was the mother of two adult children and the grandmother of one child.

Chabot said the murder indictment against Young represents a very lengthy investigation that was handled well by Bayha, who worked with Maine State Police.

“It was very complex; it took some time,” said Chabot.

Regarding the felony murder charge, Chabot and Bayha referred to a 1980 case in which a man approached two Portland police officers in a store on Spring Street to tell them he’d just been robbed. As the police and the victim were walking to a police cruiser, the man fell backwards toward the sidewalk, according to court records. He was pronounced dead of a heart attack at a nearby hospital.

Following an appeal, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 1984 ultimately affirmed the murder conviction of Dennis Reardon in that case.

Young is incarcerated at York County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail on a number of charges stemming from the 2015 burglaries. Other members of the alleged burglary ring who were arrested and charged in 2015 were Brian Cerullo of Alfred, who was 25 at the time; Marissa Vieira, who was 23; and Cathy Carle, who was 21. Both women are of Sanford.

Police said further charges may ensue.

“This is still an active investigation,” said Chabot.

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