Portland police say public should not be worried after violent weekend

PORTLAND (WGME) -- A Portland man, accused of murdering his girlfriend this weekend, made his first court appearance Tuesday.

Gregory Vance was arrested on Sunday.

According to court documents, Vance allegedly strangled his girlfriend, Patricia Grassi, because she was "tormenting" him.

During Tuesday's court appearance, Vance was ordered held without bail.

"These are serious matters, our client is presumed innocent at this stage so we would encourage the investigators and the public not to rush to judgment," defense attorney Tina Nadeau said.

The murder of Patricia Grassi was one of two homicides in the city of Portland this weekend, but that's not all, capping off an especially violent period of time in the city.

Portland's acting police chief says he can't remember a time when there were two homicides back to back in the city, but despite the recent violence, he says his department is on top of it.

Addressing public concerns about recent crimes, Acting Police Chief Vern Malloch says the public shouldn't be worried.

"There is no common thread. they're occurring in different parts of the city, entirely different people involved, we're making good progress on the investigations," Malloch said.

The major crimes span from the peninsula to Riverton.

The first happened Saturday on Milton Street, where police say a 22-year-old man was shot to death at a home.

No arrests have been made.

"Our last homicide was more than a year ago. We average one or two murders a year, so to have two back to back that aren't connected in any way is really unusual for us," Malloch said.

The second incident happened a few hours later on Sherman Street.

Police have arrested Markus Scott for allegedly firing off multiple rounds.

"We're fortunate that the only thing that was hit were some cars and some buildings, no one was injured in that but that's probably just a miracle that no one was hurt there," Malloch said.

On Sunday, Gregory Vance was arrested for allegedly murdering his girlfriend at their Cumberland Avenue apartment.

Then on Monday, police say the Norway Savings Bank on Forest Avenue was robbed at gunpoint.

That suspect still on the run.

"People should be vigilant but be vigilant in the sense of looking out for your neighbor," Malloch said.

Anyone with information on any of these recent cases is urged to give Portland Police a call.