Modesto man arrested, charged with 2012 homicide in Portland, Maine
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department apprehended a Modesto man who earlier this month was indicted in a triple shooting that left one man dead in Portland, Maine, nine years ago.
The shooting on July 11, 2012, killed Matt Blanchard, 24, and wounded two of his brothers.
Earlier this month, investigators in Portland, Maine, contacted the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department for assistance in apprehending 31-year-old Zachary Phach. According to a press release from Portland Police, a grand jury on April 9 indicted Phach and 27-year-old Khang Tran on charges of murder, aggravated attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault and conspiracy.
Phach was found at his home in the 2500 block of Riverdale Avenue in southwest Modesto on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department said he did not know how long Phach had been living in Modesto but Stanislaus County court records show he had ties to this area even before the 2012 homicide.
Phach was charged in Stanislaus Superior Court in 2009 with petty theft and in 2015 with carrying a concealed firearm.
Phach remains in Stanislaus County Jail awaiting extradition back to Maine.
His co-defendant Tran was already in custody in a Pennsylvania prison and also awaits extradition.
This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 8:54 AM.
