Maine man, 74, held in deaths of teenage tenants

PORTLAND, Maine – A 74-year-old Maine man will appear in court this week to face charges in the shooting deaths of two of his tenants inside their apartment after a possible dispute over where they parked their cars during a snowstorm, state police said.

James Pak was arrested at about 10 p.m. Saturday after a three-hour standoff at his home in Biddeford, about 15 miles south of Portland, police said. He is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Derrick Thompson, 19, and Thompson's girlfriend, Alivia Welch, 18.

Pak is being held at the York County Jail in Alfred and is expected to make his initial court appearance either Monday or Wednesday, depending on the availability of a judge.

Thompson's mother, Susan Johnson, 44, called police to report the shootings at about 7 p.m. She and her 6-year-old son also live in the apartment, which is attached to the Cape Cod-style house where Pak lived.

State police spokesman Steve McCausland said before the shootings Biddeford police were called to Pak's home over a dispute between Pak and his tenants over cars being parked in the driveway during the snowstorm. Biddeford banned street parking during the night so city crews could plow the streets.

The Portland Press-Herald reported that the home has two driveways, one on either side of the house.

Minutes after officers left the house, they received the call reporting the shootings. When they returned, Biddeford police rescued Johnson and her young son, and Pak retreated to his part of the house, where he lived with his wife, McCausland said.

Pak's wife left the home, and he surrendered hours later after talking to police negotiators, said McCausland. A gun was found in the house.

Johnson was being treated for a gunshot wound at a Portland hospital, officials said. Her younger son, Brayden, was not hurt.

Detectives are investigating whether the violence stemmed from a landlord-tenant dispute, McCausland said. Johnson and her family moved into the apartment in October.

The victim's bodies were transported Sunday to the medical examiner's office in Augusta, where autopsies were being performed.

According to his business website, Pak is a dry stone mason and the owner of Korean Yankee Landscape in Biddeford. It describes him as a Korean War orphan who came to the United States from Seoul, Korea. He grew up in Danby and Rutland and worked in the marble quarries.

He started his masonry and landscaping business in 1964, according to the website, and sold it in 2006, when he and his wife, Armit, moved to Biddeford and opened another business.

Thompson was an auto detailer at a local car dealership and had attended Biddeford High School, and Welch worked at a local coffee shop and graduated from Thornton Academy in Saco, according to their Facebook profiles and a list of Thornton Academy graduates. Two people who answered a phone call at the coffee shop would not comment.

Neighbors told the Press-Herald that Pak was known for his short temper.

Andrew Lemelin, 19, who lives across the street from Pak, told the newspaper that he'd done some work for Pak earlier this year, but Pak wasn't satisfied with his performance. He said Pak wrote to his father asking for his wages back, but his father declined. Lemelin said Pak left a message on the family's answering machine that he described as disturbing and threatening.

Lemelin said his family gave the message to Biddeford police but nothing came of the incident.