Murder trial of Prentiss man begins
4/27/09 | 31 comments
court news

Murder trial of Prentiss man begins


By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KEVIN BENNETT
Joseph Dumas looks at the gallery during opening arguments of his murder trial in Penobscot County Superior Court in Bangor on Monday, April 27, 2009. His trial is expected to last until Thursday.

BANGOR, Maine — There’s no doubt that Joseph Dumas, 49, shot his best friend fives times after snorting a lot of cocaine.

The question the jury will have to decide is whether it was murder or manslaughter.

The murder trial of the Prentiss man charged with killing 70-year-old Mario “Sonny” Litterio of Prentiss got under way Monday with opening statements in Penobscot County Superior Court. Dumas has admitted shooting Litterio on Nov. 8, 2007, near a camp on Tar Ridge Road in Prentiss where Dumas was working.

Assistant Attorney General Donald Macomber told the jury of seven men and seven women, which includes two alternates, that Dumas intentionally or knowingly shot Litterio twice in the shoulder and twice in the head with Litterio’s own gun. The defendant then literally blew the victim’s head off when he shot him a final time with .50-caliber muzzleloading black powder rifle, Macomber said.

Defense attorney Richard Hartley of Bangor told the jury that Dumas was bingeing on cocaine the day he killed his friend and did not intentionally or knowingly murder Litterio. Hartley said the evidence would show that Dumas is guilty of manslaughter, not murder, due to his intoxicated state at the time he pulled the triggers.

If convicted of murder, Dumas faces a minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison without a chance of probation. If he were convicted of manslaughter, he would face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and would be eligible for probation.

For much of Monday, Jason Litterio, 20, of North Scituate, R.I., sat directly behind the man accused of murdering his father 18 months ago. The young man took the stand briefly Monday morning to explain how on Nov. 9, 2007, he drove to his father’s home from Fairfield, where he was a student at Kennebec Valley Community College, when he couldn’t get in touch with him.

“I showed up and the [Maine State Police] were there,” Litterio said during an afternoon break. “I let them inside the house and showed them around.”

He did not learn until the next day that Joseph Dumas had killed his father.

“His family was my second family,” Litterio said.

State police Detective Darryl Peary testified Monday afternoon about his interviews with Dumas and the discovery of Litterio’s body. A 90-minute taped interview from Nov. 9, 2007 — in which an emotional Dumas recalled shooting his friend — was played for the jury.

Dumas, his hair closely cropped and his face cleanly shaven except for a moustache, sat at the defense table. Dressed in a blue dress shirt, gray slacks and striped tie, Dumas wept as he listened to himself describe emptying a revolver into his best friend.

He told police that while working on renovations to the camp, he snorted cocaine. At one point, Dumas said that he was outside and saw a deer in the woods behind the cabin. He shot at it with his black powder rifle and thought that by the way it acted, he had wounded it. Dumas told Peary that he drove the short distance to the victim’s home, which is located on the same road, and asked Litterio to help him look for the deer.

After Litterio got a revolver from a kitchen drawer, the men went back to the camp in Litterio’s pickup, Dumas said on the tape. Dumas told police that he and his friend went down a tote road toward where he said he had seen the deer.

Litterio said he had to urinate and handed his gun to Dumas to hold, according to Macomber. As the victim walked toward a tree, Dumas shot him with the .38-caliber revolver — twice in the shoulder and twice in the head, Dumas said on the tape. He said he again shot Litterio with the black powder rifle, which he at some point had reloaded.

Peary showed the jury photos of the victim’s body as police found it on Nov. 10, 2007, using a map drawn by Dumas. Litterio was lying face down in a pile of leaves, his hands underneath him.

The detective also displayed a photo taken when Litterio’s body had been turned over. It showed that his zipper was down.

Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy is presiding over the trial, which is expected to go to the jury on Thursday.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

990-8207

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Comments
31 comments on this item
On 4/27/09 at 1:20 PM, Louise wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What difference does it make what your drugged up on? If you shoot someone in the head 5 times, it sure sounds like murder to me! Every time you read the paper, some murderer is looking to "get away with it" for some cock-eyed reason, and they usually do!

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On 4/27/09 at 1:35 PM, nelady wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree - the fact that he was bingeing on cocaine just makes it worse in my mind. He made the choice to use drugs which altered his state of mind. In my mind that makes it intentional - there's a reason these drugs are illegal!

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On 4/27/09 at 1:51 PM, blackbear219 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I have to agree with the two people that posted above me. I guess next time I'm heading out to do something illegal, I'll make sure I'm on drugs so my sentence won't be as harsh. Defense lawyers, I tell ya.

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On 4/27/09 at 1:58 PM, johnsod27330 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

BDM: What kind of sentence is this?

If convicted of murder, Dumas faces a minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of life without a chance to serve any of his sentence on probation.

Shouldn't that be: Life without the possibility of parole?

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On 4/27/09 at 2:47 PM, DowneastFF wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I always thought life - was 25 years..?? which I always thought was dumb...b/c life sentence to me should mean life.. you NEVER get out of jail.. no parole..no good behavior..you are there until you die.. and if you do end up with life, you should just be given lethal injection.. saves the taxpayers money. But of course, there should be a time frame before that happens, to help prevent anyone dying wrongfully. Many innocent people go to jail.

This dirt bag should be sent to texas for the death sentence. On drugs or not, he KNOWINGLY murdered his friend. He may not remember it when he sobered up, but even when he was drugged up, he knew what he was doing. Its WRONG!

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On 4/27/09 at 2:52 PM, JillT1981 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Just because this guy was on cocaine SHOULDN'T make it any less of a brutal MURDER. He shot the other guy twice in the shoulder, which anyone would automatically start running after being shot at, and then twice in the head with the same weapon (which it does indeed sounds like the victim was trying to escape, literally fleeing for his life). And then Dumas SWITCHED weapons. That tells me, he knew exactly what he was doing. If he was hallucinating or whatever, he would have used the same weapon until, for lack of better words, the job was finished.

My sympathies to the victim's family, no one should have to endure having a loved one taken in this manner.

Dumas, you deserve EVERYTHING you have coming to you, I hope you ROT in your 9x13 cell.

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On 4/27/09 at 2:57 PM, JillT1981 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

DowneastFF, a life sentence is technically only 29 years. Unless they specify and say NATURAL life, in that case, you're there forever.

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On 4/27/09 at 2:57 PM, vchapes wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

BANGOR, Maine — There’s no doubt that Joseph Dumas, 49, shot his best friend five times- I don't think i'd shoot my BEST friend... she may deserve a slap every now and then.

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And how does 'binging on cocaine' cause you to murder your best friend accidently?? IT DOESN'T HAPPEN!!!!!!!!! So obviously that's a cop out of an excuse. Any judge should know better... i would hope.

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On 4/27/09 at 3:19 PM, mainbad wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Unbelievable waste of taxpayer money.

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On 4/27/09 at 3:30 PM, Fausto wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

A life sentence in Maine is for one's natural life. Neither parole nor probation are a possibility.

This binging on cocaine defense sounds like the typical excuses I hear from Republican politicians like Bush or Cheney for their illegal conduct. Can't anyone admit responsibility like a man?

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On 4/27/09 at 3:49 PM, SunandClouds wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What ever happened to the death penalty? Why support people like this for the rest of their lives. I don't think they deserve to live.

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On 4/27/09 at 4:13 PM, anonymous0000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Dumas deserves life. To bad Maine didnt have the electric chair. He knew what he was doing. He made the choice to binge so there-fore he made a choice to have consequences.. Sonny was a wonderful man and DIDN'T deserve to die the way this piece of slime killed him...... I hope he literally rots in his jail cell. Although this is still to kind for Dumas... As a local resident, he is known to have a violent temper.... I hope the Literrio family gets some peace from the sentencing and I hope the slime bag killer goes to meet his maker.....

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On 4/27/09 at 4:42 PM, kateindfcity wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This Dumas guy is a Dumba**. People need to understand that if you're going to do drugs like cocaine that things are going to happen, and they're not going to be good. So what you were high? You shot this man FIVE times, and blew his head off. A regrettable situation when hopped up on drugs would be having sex with someone you didn't want to, not murdering someone. This man deserves life, in a jail cell, to die. I believe that there is a special place for this man's soul when he is gone, and it's much worse than any hell that christianity can dream up.

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On 4/27/09 at 5:20 PM, coastalmaine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

How can people be eligible for probation after killing someone? I say they never get a chance to do it again. But sadly they always do get that chance, and usually re offend...sad

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On 4/27/09 at 5:26 PM, wallyo wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Cripes , everything is all GW's fault. Get over it you liberals .you are the dope smoking hippies of the 60's and 70's 'Its your fault...........

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On 4/27/09 at 6:34 PM, Louise wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

wallyo----What in hell are you talking about??

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On 4/28/09 at 8:04 AM, drc480 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

No crime in Maine????????? that's a joke drc

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On 4/28/09 at 8:07 AM, drc480 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

wallyo is right,,,,, tell them like it is. The Liberal's are the cause that we are in this mess drc

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On 4/28/09 at 8:20 AM, wolf55 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Best Friend? manslaughter because of cocaine use? shot 5 times? - hmmm at what point would he not been considered a best friend, a sixth or seventh shot? he was no best friend - and this is an excellent cause for a return to the death penalty - there are plenty of good healthy trees in Maine - let gravity do the rest. He was no Best Friend and if his lawyer is trying to play that out in court, not only is he wasting the courts time and the public's money, he is more of an idiot than his client!!

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On 4/28/09 at 10:35 AM, duckwa wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm with wolf55 don't label someone who shot me as my best friend. What would your enemies be like? Also I hate to ask what does snorting coke have to do with it anyway. Its not a lose total control of your surroundings type drug. It might have made him more easily agitated , but still doesn't make sense shooting for no reason.

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On 4/28/09 at 11:06 AM, AKAlala wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

We should have the death sentence here in Maine, all over our country for that matter. An eye for an eye. I don't care if he was doing drugs or not, that only makes it worse in my mind. Not an excuse by any means. The victim stopped what he was doing to go help him. I surely don't think we should now put this man up some place with cable tv, 3 hot meals, no bills, no responsibilities. Bring back the chain gang.....make him break up rocks with a sledge hammer for a few years.....feeding him slop like a pig...even out of a bucket with all the other prisoners. Give him time to think about what he did and then kill him with as much pain as he made him victim and the family feel.

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On 4/28/09 at 11:06 AM, TimGrant wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I know this isn't the main thrust of the story, but I think we should push to outlaw these handguns. Then they'll be off the street, like the cocaine the guy was using.

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On 4/28/09 at 1:02 PM, AKAlala wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Obviously just because "outlawing" something doesn't mean you can't get it. Outlawing handguns.....are you kidding? Sounds to me like we each need one to give us a fair playing ground when meeting the Joseph Dumas' of the world. I really don't think i would want to go to a gun fight with a kind voice.

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On 4/28/09 at 2:09 PM, Louise wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"He listened to himself describe enptying a revolver into his best friend" I thought he was out of it on cocaine and didn't know what was going on? With friends like this you sure as hell don't need any enemies!

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On 4/28/09 at 3:35 PM, stroker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

lets ask the real question here.... why would someone kill a friend.... i can tell you that Mario had zero friends.... i know it is aweful to speak about those who have passed, however let the truth be told that Mario was not a good man. so for dumas to call him a friend, his defense should be insanity. this way he would truly get off free. the justice system and those who just read the end result think it should all be dumas fault... i would say there is something more to this story.

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On 4/28/09 at 3:54 PM, stroker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

so drugs.... did they find drugs at the litterio house? Was litterios gun registered correctly? Seems like the tax payers are questioning why the waiste of taxpayers dollars. did anyone look further into this case to find a motive? Or just taking the word of a coked up killer.... did anyone look into Mario here??? Or his he now a saint??

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On 4/28/09 at 3:55 PM, stroker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Only one victim here.... His poor son. Good guy and should not have to go through this.

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On 4/28/09 at 4:37 PM, stroker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

litterio has a felony assalt weapons charge from back in 1992. good friend to have wonder if he had to go to the bathroom that time as well

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On 4/28/09 at 4:39 PM, stroker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Case ID: 62-1991-17840 - MARIO LITTERIO

Court : (DC) District Court Location : (6D) 6th District Court

Filing Date: Friday , November 15th, 1991

Type: F - FELONY

Status: ZDISP - CASE DISPOSED

Arrest Information

Arresting Agency : PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT

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On 4/29/09 at 2:38 PM, berquis wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What does it matter if Litterio was a "bad, friendless man"??? He was still shot in the woods and "hunted" like the deer they were looking for. The man's social status or past history doesn't really make a difference does it?

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On 5/5/09 at 11:30 AM, stroker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Why does it matter???? He deserved what he got. The man was an a hole to everyone that new him. Hunted like he treated everyone.

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