Stephen Marshall, the young Cape Breton man suspected of killing two sex offenders in Maine, was arrested when he was 15 for threatening another youth with a semi-automatic weapon, a sheriff's department in Idaho said yesterday.
The arrest in Culdesac, Idaho, is the first indication of past violence by Mr. Marshall, 20, who killed himself Sunday as police approached him on a bus outside of Boston.
The arrest occurred in 2001 when Mr. Marshall lived with his father Ralph in the village of 350 adjacent to the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. Police records show the younger Marshall threatened a youth who was fighting with his friend on the front lawn of his father's home.
"He went into [his father's]house and retrieved an AR-15, 223 semi-automatic rifle, returned to the front door and told the one subject to let his friend go," said Pat McNish, a lieutenant with Nez Perce County Sheriff's Department.
Another official said that Stephen was charged with aggravated assault, but there is no record of a conviction because he was a juvenile at the time. "It's kind of hush-hush," said Toni Greer, an administrative assistant with the department.
Terry Crawford, who taught Stephen agriculture at Culdesac High School, recalled him as "a somewhat rebellious kid" who was intelligent but "just wanted to do what he wanted to do."
"He was pretty quiet around me," Mr. Crawford said. He attended the school for about 18 months before transferring to a high school near Phoenix, Ariz., where an older stepsister was living.
It was just another move for a young man who was born in Texas, lived in Nova Scotia until his parents divorced, and then followed as his father moved between jobs in Arizona, Idaho, Colorado and most recently Maine.
Mr. Crawford said it was no surprise that Stephen would have had access to a high-profile rifle at such a young age. "In rural Idaho, basically kids get hunting licences as young as 12 and learn how to handle guns responsibly."
Mr. Marshall's Idaho arrest was news to his friends and family in Cape Breton, who are still reeling from his death after his shooting rampage in New England that left two sex offenders dead.
In interviews yesterday, they painted a picture of a sensitive man with an offbeat sense of humour who was fiercely protective of his younger sister.
"He loved Bubbles [from the TV show Trailer Park Boys]" said Dawn Wilson, 21, who befriended Mr. Marshall when he moved to Cape Breton three years ago from the United States. She and her boyfriend, Chris Catapano, were among Mr. Marshall's closest friends, "the flock of black sheep," as Ms. Wilson described them.
"We were just the outcasts in high school," Ms. Wilson said. "We were picked on."
The group became friends when they were studying at a local college. Mr. Marshall and Mr. Catapano were enrolled in a computer course, Ms. Wilson in broadcasting.
Ms. Wilson said Mr. Marshall made her laugh with his "goofy" humour and offbeat dance routines.
Mr. Marshall was born in Fort Worth, Tex., and his parents moved to rural Cape Breton Island when he was small. He lived in Sydney, N.S., then in nearby Louisbourg.
His parents divorced when he was eight years old, and his father left for the United States. When Stephen Marshall was 13, his father visited him in Cape Breton, and the boy moved to the United States shortly afterward.
Mr. Catapano said Mr. Marshall did not mention an arrest, but he knew he shared an interest in guns with his father. Mr. Catapano said Mr. Marshall also said he tried to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces but was rejected because of his asthma.
Mr. Marshall's mother, Margaret Miles, said her pastor has urged her to stop racking her brain for answers that might never come.
"What I know is, the evidence is that Stephen was a kind and gentle man," she said. "We don't know why this happened."
Mr. Marshall's stepfather, Keith Miles, said his family feels that it has been torn apart. Not only are they trying to cope with their son's suicide, but they feel terrible for the victims' families. Mr. Marshall's 13-year-old sister is devastated, Mr. Miles said.
"He was like a best friend to his little sister."