Man sentenced for deadly Portland shooting linked to fight between rival motorcycle clubs\
by Ariana St Pierre, WGME April 10, 2025
https://wgme.com/news/local/man-sentenced-for-deadly-portland-shooting-linked-to-fight-between-rival-motorcycle-clubs-aaron-karp-susan-mchugh-manslaughter-maine-crime-gun-violence-higher-calling-fsu-the-outlaws
PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) — A Maine man will spend five years behind bars for shooting and killing a woman in Portland.
Aaron Karp of Naples pleaded guilty on Thursday to manslaughter for the death of 54-year-old Susan McHugh of Gray. As part of a plea deal, the murder charge was dropped.
A judge sentenced Karp to 15 years with all but five years suspended, which means he’ll spend five years in prison.
The shooting happened on July 30, 2024, on Forest Avenue in the parking lot of a mechanic shop. McHugh was killed and three others were injured.
Prosecutors say the shooting happened during a fight between rival motorcycle clubs. Police say they used a dashcam video and two surveillance videos to identify the alleged gunman who shot McHugh.
The incident started at the Brookside Bar in Westbrook. According to testimony, the bar has rules about not wearing biker jackets and vests with club colors.
According to testimony, members of the FSU biker club got upset with the Higher Calling club for wearing their colors, threw some punches and took one of the Higher Calling vests.
Police say Higher Calling members called members of a third club, The Outlaws, who showed up at the Brookside Bar and later confronted some members of the FSU club on Forest Avenue.
Officers testified that seven to nine men wearing Outlaw colors crossed Forest Avenue carrying weapons, including a baseball bat and small sledgehammer, and attacked three members of the rival club.
That’s when police say McHugh fired one shot to defend her husband and the others, causing all the Outlaws to turn and run, until police say Karp fired nine shots at McHugh, with one bullet hitting her in the chest.
Police say someone else picked up McHugh’s gun and returned fire.
Defense attorneys argued self-defense.
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