Mistrial declared in trial of Aziayh Scott for manslaughter

The jury trial of Aziayh Scott, 24, of Louisiana, accused of the manslaughter in the May 2024 death of 22-month-old Quayshawn Wilson in Thomaston, has ended in a mistrial in Knox County Superior Court.

The 12-member jury was selected on Nov. 3 and the trial began on the same day and was expected to last at least one week. The jury began its deliberations on Monday, Nov. 10 and continued through Wednesday, Nov. 12 since the courthouse was closed on Tuesday for the Veterans Day holiday.

After the jury resumed their deliberations on Wednesday, they were still not able to reach a unanimous decision, so at the end of the day Justice John O’Neil, who is presiding over the trial, declared a mistrial.

Scott remains free on $50,000 cash bail. He lives and works in Rockland.

The Director of Public Affairs at the Office of the Maine Attorney general said on Nov. 17 that “we are still reviewing all our options at this time” regarding a retrial for Scott.

Scott is represented by his court appointed attorney, Chris MacLean of the Dirigo Law Group LLP, in Camden. The lead prosecutor in the trial is Maine Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin. 

He was indicted on a single count of manslaughter by a Knox County grand jury in October 2024.  

The criminal complaint states that Scott “did recklessly or with criminal negligence cause the death of a minor child with a date of birth July 7, 2022.”

Scott who is originally from Louisiana moved to Maine and was living with his girlfriend and the toddler in Owls Head.

On May 29, 2024, at approximately 7:26 p.m., Thomaston Police, Fire and Rescue responded to the Walmart in Thomaston for a report of a child not breathing. The child was transported to Pen Bay Medical Center, where the child was pronounced dead.   

A nurse on site was the first to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the toddler, said police.   

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta conducted an autopsy on May 30, 2024, and ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the manner of death of was homicide.

The child’s injuries included a lacerated liver and the examiner said in the report that the death producing injury would have likely occurred in the 24 hours proceeding the child’s death, according to the court document.

Detectives learned after going to his residence in Owls Head on June 4 that the couple had returned to Louisiana.

Maine State Police Detectives coordinated with Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service Maine Violent Offender Task Force to arrest Scott, according to the Maine’s Department of Public Safety in a June 5 news release.

In Maine, the maximum sentence for manslaughter is a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Related story:

https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/court-news-column/264165

Rockland Police arrest two people on drug possession after traffic stop

Two people remain in jail with their individual bail set at $5,000 cash after Rockland Police found illegal drugs in a vehicle after conducting a traffic stop for improper operation shortly before midnight on Nov. 14.

During the stop, officers identified the operator as Stacey Grierson, 53, of South Thomaston, according to a news release from Rockland Police. Grierson was found to be on probation for a prior felony drug charge.

A search of both the vehicle and the passenger, Johander Camacho Polanco, 24, Florida, found approximately 9 grams of fentanyl and approximately 28 grams of cocaine.

Stacey Grierson was arrested and booked into the Knox County Jail for felony aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs and a probation hold.

Johander Camacho Polanco was arrested and booked into the Knox County Jail for felony unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs.

Both Grierson and Polanco made their initial appearances in Knox County Court on Nov. 17.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com