Man gets 30 years for killing friend
8/12/09 | 18 comments
court news

Man gets 30 years for killing friend


By Dan MacLeod
BDN Staff
Joseph Dumas

BANGOR, Maine — The Prentiss man who in November 2007 shot his “best friend” five times in the back and the head after a cocaine binge was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison.

Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy in prepared remarks explained why she imposed a 30-year sentence.

She said that because Joseph Dumas, 50, was “extraordinarily cooperative” with authorities, had close ties with his community and was under the influence of cocaine when he killed Mario “Sonny” Litterio, 70, of Prentiss, she would not impose a longer sentence.

The defense and prosecution presented their sentencing memorandums to Murphy last month during a hearing. The judge said she also considered letters from the friends and families of the victim and the defendant.

Dumas faced a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum of 25 years.

The shackled defendant wept silently throughout much of the sentencing.

The victim’s son, Jason Litterio, 20, of Scituate, R.I., asked the judge to impose the maximum penalty.

“I was never able to say goodbye to my father,” he said. “I will be scarred for the rest of my life. I just want to ask for the biggest punishment possible.”

A jury of five women and seven men found Dumas guilty of intentional and knowing murder on May 1 after a 4½-day trial. The jury deliberated for about four hours over two days.

Dumas admitted that after bingeing on cocaine for much of the day on Nov. 8, 2007, he killed Litterio. The shooting occurred near a camp on Tar Ridge Road in Prentiss where Dumas was working.

He told police two days after he killed Litterio that while working on renovations to a camp, he snorted cocaine. He said that at one point when he was outside, he saw a deer in the woods behind the cabin.

Dumas shot at it with his black-powder rifle and thought that by the way it acted, he had wounded it. He told investigators 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 his kitchen drawer, the men went back to the camp in Litterio’s pickup.

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. 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 told police. He said he again shot Litterio with his own .50-caliber black-powder rifle.

Litterio’s brother-in-law Ray D’Andrea, of Chepachet, R.I., asked Murphy to set aside any claims that Dumas was essentially a good man who made a terrible mistake.

“Sonny was my brother-in-law. I miss him very much. His murderer should spend the rest of his life in jail,” he said. “Just because [Dumas] was good does not make him a good man anymore.”

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson, who prosecuted the case, said it was difficult to recommend a sentence for Dumas.

“What do you do with Joseph Dumas? What do you do with a man who, for completely unfathomable reasons, gets unbelievably coked up and kills his best friend?” he asked.

Benson recommended a sentence of 40 years. He told the judge it was Dumas’ decision to snort as much cocaine as he did. He said the impact of the motiveless killing on Litterio’s friends and family was another factor he considered in his recommendation.

Defense attorney Peter Cyr of Portland argued that 25 years was an adequate punishment for Dumas, who he said came from a “very broken home.”

“Mr. Dumas had a very difficult childhood. He was abused by his stepfather. His mother [had issues with] substance abuse,” he said.

Dumas was treated in his early 20s for alcohol and drug abuse, he said.

Cyr argued that Dumas suffered from cocaine-induced psychosis when he killed Litterio.

“When he fell off the wagon again, he fell hard,” Cyr said. “He saw bright lights, felt invincible. He thought he was a gunslinger and that he was going to be great.”

A tearful Dumas quietly read a statement to the court.

“Words cannot express how awful I feel about the loss of my dear friend Sonny,” he said. “I truly wish I could give them the answers they’re looking for. I wish I could give myself the answers.

“I know that God has forgiven me. I ask the court for mercy,” Dumas said.

Outside the courtroom, Jason Litterio seemed calm and accepting of Murphy’s decision.

“Life [in prison] would have been a better choice, but she decided on 30 years, so 30 years is what he’s going to get,” he said.

Cyr said Tuesday he was pleased with the “very reasonable and thought-out sentence.”

The attorney said the defense team plans to appeal the conviction.

Dumas has been held without bail at the Penobscot County Jail since his arrest in November 2007. That time will count toward his sentence.

Although defendants convicted of murder are not eligible for probation, according to Benson, Dumas will be able to earn good time, which amounts to about 15 percent of his sentence. Dumas could cut six years off his sentence by being a model prisoner.

Bangor Daily News writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.

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Comments
18 comments on this item
On 8/11/09 at 12:42 PM, maine04401 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Good job judge...finally a justice who hands out sentences and doesn't give slaps on the wrist.

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On 8/11/09 at 1:31 PM, debutante wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Finally, justice is served in this state!!

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On 8/11/09 at 1:47 PM, nwayne wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

For a man his age, 30 years is nearly a life sentance. I think the sentance is appropriate in this case. Good call by the Judge.

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On 8/11/09 at 1:52 PM, debutante wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Yep, and a man his age shouldn't have been snorting cocaine!

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On 8/11/09 at 2:57 PM, Mainefriend wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Good Call on this one!!!

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On 8/11/09 at 3:43 PM, sidelineobserver wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

He'll prob get out in 10-15 for good behavior..

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On 8/11/09 at 4:00 PM, anonymous0000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

He got what he desrves, should have gotten a little more.. This still doesnt bring Sonny home... I hope he rots there, then justice will be served.

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On 8/11/09 at 4:16 PM, chersully2000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Justice was done, and hope he remains in prison.

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On 8/11/09 at 6:01 PM, BIGGITYBUMP wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I hate Cocaine...........makes ya a freakin idiot .I was there (unpaid fine-PAID IT!)...in Penobscot Booking when Dumas was brought in .He sat directly next to me for 2 hours and shtalked like we were old buds . later Police asked if he'd mentioned his crime....."NOPE'. I picked up morning paper and seen what he was charged with thought ...HOLY CRAP, he was sittin there like he had a fine too . And he didnt look all chubby like the picture in this article .Guarantee he came out of that buzz.....sayin "WHAT HAPPEND ..."

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On 8/12/09 at 8:12 AM, drc480 wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 8/12/09 at 8:25 AM, berquis wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Thank you Jesus that they did not buy into the "I was high on coke and should be given a lighter sentence" crap!

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On 8/12/09 at 9:27 PM, UseYourBrain wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

But they did buy into the "I was high on coke and should be given a lighter sentence" crap! Read the beginning of the story where the liberal judge said,

"She said that because Joseph Dumas, 50, was “extraordinarily cooperative” with authorities, had close ties with his community AND WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF COCAINE WHEN HE KILLED MARIO "SONNY" LITTERIO,70, of Prentiss, she would not impose a longer sentence.

So any of you murderers out there, when the police pull up, just toot a little bit of coke and get ten years off your sentence ... oh yea, and get a liberal judge.

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On 8/12/09 at 9:27 PM, UseYourBrain wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

But they did buy into the "I was high on coke and should be given a lighter sentence" crap! Read the beginning of the story where the liberal judge said,

"She said that because Joseph Dumas, 50, was “extraordinarily cooperative” with authorities, had close ties with his community AND WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF COCAINE WHEN HE KILLED MARIO "SONNY" LITTERIO,70, of Prentiss, she would not impose a longer sentence.

So any of you murderers out there, when the police pull up, just toot a little bit of coke and get ten years off your sentence ... oh yea, and get a liberal judge.

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On 8/13/09 at 7:06 AM, MaineMaiden wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Jospeh Dumas is now a CONVICTED MURDERER. In the eyes of the people , the cocaine did not fly. He will be in prison for the next 30 years unless he can be a perfect model prisioner , getting time off for good behavior. Then what? At 73 or 80 go back and live amongst people who see you as the Devils man servant ? I bet he was no " best friend" to Mario Litterio and the legal system failed if they investigated that fact. COCAINE ...in Prentiss...wonder how Jospeh Dumas got that???? Now a MURDER in Prentiss wonder if the narcotics division will take these small fish more seriously up that way now???? Did anyone investigate the " rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say???? Did anyone interview the people other then those the Dumas family brought forth...drug buddies I bet.... And I heard that these same type of people are working in area elementary schools....anyone ever heard of regular random drug testing???????? The judge was not the one to fail when sentencing...the DEA failed in the beginning and may still be .....

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On 8/15/09 at 12:32 AM, robin80 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

MaineMaiden-unless you know something for sure, dont assume cause all you do is make an a** out of your self! Who are you to say that they werent friends? Did you know either of them personally? Cause I did, and Sonny would sit at their kitchen table on the edge of tears talking about things. I know where the drugs came from and I can say, its doubtful that anything will be done to those who sell that crap around Prentiss. And no the Dumas family didnt bring forth drug buddies. As a matter of fact, the people who were there showing support for Joe were respectable people. And furthermore, maybe you should look in your own backyard before you start ranting about someone elses, cause you just might be surprised with what you find lurking in your yard. All I can say is that I hope it dont happen to you because it will turn your life upside down, as it has done to my family. He is my father, and this CONVICTED MURDERER would be the first person to stop and offer you help if you ever needed it. It just goes to show that awful things can happen to good people.

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On 8/16/09 at 4:07 PM, MaineMaiden wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Hmmmm.....awful things happen to good people... that is what Sonny Litterio is saying !

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On 8/16/09 at 11:49 PM, robin80 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

nobody said what happened to Sonny wasnt awful, get that straight. It was a horrible thing that happened, and both our families have lost him. It still amazes me the ignorance people can produce. Nobody knows the whole story but you all just love to make things up, did you know Sonny well enough to know what he would be saying? Did you know Joe enough to see what kind of person he is. Like i said before, I hope that you or anyone never has to go though this, its bad enough what happened, but to have to deal with the ignorance just adds to the families pain. And dont say that it wont happen to you, cause you never know what lies ahead. Do you think anyone of us really thought that this would happen? We were all floored by it, and we still are.

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On 8/20/09 at 9:18 AM, laratigris wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I hear deer hunting is a dangerous sport it get a lot of maine people killed !

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