Man Charged in Andover Murder Appears in Court

A man suspected of shooting and killing another man after an altercation over parking a motorcycle near a lake in Andover on the evening of July 3 has been charged with murder.

Police arrested Michael Robert Fortin, 21, on Tuesday, Nov. 17 in his East Hartford apartment, about four months after he is accused of killing Jason L. Marchand, 38, of Lakeside Drive in Andover. Fortin appeared in court in Rockville on Wednesday, Nov. 18, the day before his 22nd birthday.

State police responded to Lakeside Drive in Andover at 10:10 p.m. on July 3 to investigate a report of a person shot and found Marchand with several gunshot wounds.

An ambulance transported Marchand  to Windham Hospital, where he later died of his injuries.The case was ruled a homicide.

"He had a 6-year-old son and a child, a 2-year-old . It's hard to explain to them," Diana Skelly, the victim's aunt, said.

The 2-year-old was in the courthouse on Wednesday.

Marchand got into an argument with another man at about 9:15 p.m. on a lake association property at Andover Lake at Lakeside Drive, state police said.

Witnesses told police that the other man came back on his motorcycle later and shot the victim several times in the street when he confronted him. The shooter took off on the motorcycle, state police said.

The arrest warrant is sealed to the public, but relatives of the victim said that an argument over where Fortin could park his motorcycle on a gravel road by Andover Lake happened before the incident.

Eastern District Major Crime detectives responded and oversaw the investigation.

Officials from the office of the chief medical examiner responded and examined the body.

Police identified Fortin as a suspect and arrested him on Tuesday night in the parking lot of his apartment on charges of murder, two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, risk of injury to a minor, carrying a handgun without a permit and carrying a dangerous weapon.

He faces the risk of injury to a minor charge because he is accused of killing Marchand while he and children were roasting marshmallows.

In September, Fortin appeared in court in Rockville on charges of threatening and gun law violations. He was able to post the $50,000 cash bond for those charges.

Now his bail is set at $400,000 cash only.

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