Dec. 5—A murder defendant, Lorenze Labonte, 25, has been granted access to the state’s evidence against him after a week of being kept in the dark. Labonte was charged with murder in the death of Ahmed Sharif, 27, who was found dead on Nov. 24 at a Biddeford apartment where Labonte had previously lived.
During Labonte’s initial court appearance, Superior Justice James Martemucci agreed to seal the police affidavit from the public and the defendant himself. The defense attorney was allowed to review the document, but unable to share its contents with Labonte. The reasons behind Martemucci’s decision were not clear as the prosecutors’ motion to seal the affidavit was also impounded.
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Legal experts and Maine lawyers following the case believed it was unusual for a defendant to be kept from accessing a document that had been impounded from the public. They speculated that this might indicate the presence of secret witnesses or the possibility of more arrests.
This week, prosecutors filed a new motion to allow Labonte’s attorneys to discuss the record with him, although he is still not permitted to have his own copy. The judge agreed to the change and imposed restrictions on Labonte’s contact with certain individuals, although the specifics of that list were not immediately available.
The Press Herald attempted to attend the hearing, which was conducted via Zoom, but was excluded due to an error by the York County clerk’s office in providing the wrong link. Unfortunately, a recording of the proceeding was not available from the court system.
It remains unclear if Sharif’s death is connected to a nearby shooting that occurred a day after Labonte’s arrest. Labonte’s sister, Ariana Tito, 18, is charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting 32-year-old Kayla Grant at the same Saco address where Labonte was apprehended.
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Tito was arrested in New York and is currently in custody at Rikers Island. Maine authorities are in the process of arranging her extradition. The affidavit for Tito’s arrest remains impounded.
Prosecutors and police have not confirmed whether Labonte’s and Tito’s cases are related. However, court documents identified Tito as Labonte’s sister in relation to a previous aggravated assault charge he faced in 2018 for stabbing his mother and her boyfriend. Tito’s full name and birthdate were included on a witness list, although in police reports she was identified only by her initials, “A.T.”
