SKOWHEGAN — The 21-year-old Fairfield man who police arrested following a standoff last week was also believed to be involved in assaulting a teenage girl and holding a gun to her head in a video that circulated on social media, according to court documents.
Janathian Viles, 21, was also believed to be involved in the theft of a vehicle and firearm in Lincoln County and a theft from a Skowhegan convenience store.
That’s all according to an affidavit filed in support of Viles’ arrest, which came last Wednesday after an hourslong standoff with a large team of police in tactical gear in a residential Skowhegan neighborhood.
Cpl. Tyler Lafreniere of the Skowhegan Police Department wrote in his affidavit that on Sept. 7, 10 days before the standoff, he had responded to a residence on West Front Street for a report that a 16-year-old girl was assaulted.
The girl, who the Morning Sentinel is not identifying because she is a minor and a possible victim of an alleged violent crime, told Lafreniere that Viles had assaulted her at an apartment in the nearby Indian Ridge development.
Lafreniere wrote he was unable to locate Viles, who also goes by the nicknames “Ja” and “Jay Flock,” that day to speak with him.
Lafreniere had learned that Viles was wanted in connection with the thefts of a vehicle and two firearms in Jefferson, according to the affidavit. Also earlier that day, Lafreniere responded to a reported theft of two alcoholic beverages at the Circle K store on Madison Avenue in Skowhegan, the affidavit states. Lafreniere identified the suspects in surveillance video as Viles and a 16-year-old boy, who the Morning Sentinel is not identifying because he is a minor.
Lafreniere then viewed a profanity-filled Snapchat video posted to a group called “The Smoke Circle” that appeared to show Viles and the same 16-year-old boy with the 16-year-old girl who reported being assaulted, the affidavit states.
The video appeared to show the girl sitting on the ground near French Street in the fetal position, while Viles held a rifle barrel to her head, the affidavit says.
Two days later, the 16-year-old boy contacted Skowhegan police via a juvenile probation officer and told Detective Sgt. Kelly Hooper that he filmed the video, Lafreniere’s affidavit states. He told Hooper the girl in the video was intoxicated, and he believed the gun Viles appeared to be holding did not have bullets in it.
He also told Hooper that he was unsure who assaulted the girl, the affidavit says.
He told Hooper that Viles had stolen the gun and the car in Jefferson from a friend, and that someone named Devyn Austin had the car, the affidavit says.
Austin, 18, of Skowhegan, was arrested Sept. 7 — the night of the assault police believe Viles was involved in — after a high-speed chase that exceeded 100 mph, police said previously.
The 16-year-old girl who was allegedly assaulted told Detective Carolynn Taylor she was intoxicated the night the video was filmed, so she did not remember the gun being held to her head, Lafreniere wrote in the affidavit. The girl identified Viles as the person holding the firearm.
She reported being assaulted the night of the video by a “bald white guy,” who was standing in a vestibule into which Viles pushed her. The man allegedly hit her in the face.
On Wednesday, Skowhegan police were looking for Viles at 40 Beech St. in Skowhegan, Lafreniere wrote.
After seeing Viles, police surrounded the home and attempts to contact those inside were unsuccessful, police Chief David Bucknam said previously. The Maine State Police tactical team responded to the scene, Bucknam said, and a negotiation continued for several hours.
After the standoff, Viles was initially arrested and charged with Class C reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, Class D assault, Class E theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, Class E causing a police standoff and two Class E counts of violation of conditions of release.
Prosecutors in Somerset County filed a complaint that lists only the reckless conduct, assault and violation of conditions of release charges, court records show.
At an initial court appearance Friday, District Judge Julia Pitney set Viles’ bail on those charges at $1,000 cash, according to court records. As bail conditions, Viles was ordered not to use or possess firearms or dangerous weapons and have no contact with the 16-year-old boy and the 16-year-old girl.
At the time of his arrest last week, Viles was on what is known as a deferred disposition for charges stemming from a string of car break-ins, court records show. The agreement stipulated that Viles plead guilty to several felony-level charges in August 2024, and was to return to court in August 2026. If he complied with several conditions, including not committing more criminal offenses, prosecutors would replace the felony-level charges with misdemeanors, according to court records.
Pitney revoked Viles’ personal recognizance bail in that case Friday, but denied a motion from prosecutors to terminate the deferred disposition and impose a sentence, records show.
Viles was being held as of Monday afternoon at the Somerset County Jail in Madison, according to booking records.
Along with Viles, police also took Thor Getchell, 18, of Skowhegan into custody Wednesday on one Class E count of creating a police standoff, Bucknam said.
Three minors were also taken into custody and charged with the same misdemeanor-level offense, he said.
Getchell was issued a summons and released, Bucknam said. The three minors were released to their respective parents.
Viles has a history with Skowhegan police. In March 2023, he was charged with terrorizing after a social media post containing what police deemed a threat closed Skowhegan area schools for a day.
Viles, who at the time told the Morning Sentinel he participated in a Skowhegan adult education program, said the post was not intended to cause any harm.
