WATERBORO — A 20-year-old Sanford man has been charged with felony reckless conduct after lab results showed an expended bullet from a gun he own matched bullet fragments found inside a Townhouse Road home a year ago.

Zachary Jordan faces a Class B charge. York County Sheriff Bill King said the young man confessed to the crime to Waterboro Contract Deputy Kevin Collins on Tuesday.

The incident began Nov. 6, 2016, when a caller reported gunshots in the 400 block of Townhouse Road and King said the caller thought his house had been struck by gunshots, but could not locate any damage that evening.  

“The following day, the victim did find damage to the outside of the house where several gunshots had struck the house, King said in a statement. “The victim also found that two of the projectiles had entered the residence, one in the garage and one in his 20-year-old son’s bedroom.”

The sheriff said deputies investigating the incident found that the gunshots may have been prompted by a dispute that the victim’s son was having with another man and his friends. 

King said said the group had accused the victim’s son of “spreading rumors” about a woman.   

“Deputies followed all logical leads that night in 2016 but could not locate the suspects,” King said in a news release. “Deputies took photographs of the damage to the building and were able to extract bullet fragments from the side of the house.” 

The sheriff said Collins continued to pursue the suspects listed by the victim’s son and eventually interviewed several of them, including Jordan. He said all denied any involvement with a firearm, although a 9mm Ruger was seized from Jordan.  

Bullet fragments taken from the house and a sample expended projectile from Jordan’s firearm were sent to the Maine State Police Laboratory for comparison.  

“Deputies recently learned that the fragments and the projectile from Jordan’s Ruger was a match, indicating that the fragments taken from the house in 2016 were shot from Jordan’s weapon,” King wrote. “On Dec. 19, Deputy Collins re-interviewed Jordan and obtained a full confession.”

Jordan was issued a summons for aggravated reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, a Class B felony.

King said the investigation continues, and more charges are anticipated.  

Jordan is scheduled to make a first appearance on March 9, at York County Superior Court in Alfred.

A Class B crime, upon conviction, carries a maximum prison term of 10 years.

 — Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.