ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Surry man acquitted of manslaughter in a 2011 fatal accident was sentenced Wednesday to serve nine months in jail on a reckless conduct conviction.
At his trial in May, a jury concluded that Steven H. Moon, 23, had been driving a 1997 Subaru Legacy wagon on the night that it was involved in a fatal accident four years ago. Caleb Foster, 27, of Stonington was one of four people in the vehicle and died as a result of the single-vehicle crash, which occurred on Newbury Neck Road around 9:30 p.m. May 28, 2011.
The jury was not convinced, however, that Moon was behind the wheel at the time the fatal accident occurred and so found him innocent of causing Foster’s death. Instead, the jury found Moon guilty of a Class C felony charge of reckless conduct.
Moon had been expected to plead no contest last summer to the manslaughter charge and to receive a sentence of 15 years in prison with all but two suspended. However, Justice Robert Mullen rejected the deal Moon had struck with prosecutors because, according to Moon’s defense attorney Walter McKee, he believed the deal was too lenient.
On Wednesday, Justice Robert Murray gave Moon an overall sentence of three years behind bars with all but nine months suspended for the reckless conduct conviction. Moon also was ordered to serve two years of probation upon his release from jail.
In addition, Moon was facing a deferred charge of causing death while operating a motor vehicle after suspension, which was not presented to the jury. Because the jury acquitted Moon of causing Foster’s death, prosecutors and McKee agreed, with Murray’s approval, to have that charge vacated and instead to have Moon plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of operating after suspension and operating under the influence of intoxicants.
For those convictions, Moon will serve seven days in jail concurrent with his sentence on the reckless conduct charge and surrender his driver’s license for 515 days. He also was ordered to pay fines totaling $1,400.
In a sentencing memo submitted to the court by Hancock County Deputy District Attorney Norman “Toff” Toffolon, the prosecutor noted that Moon had three prior convictions for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants, one that resulted from an incident that occurred after the fatal crash.
Moon also has a few convictions on his juvenile record, Toffolon noted, and has admitted that on the night of the fatal accident he consumed a 30-pack of beer.
Toffolon prosecuted the case because District Attorney Matthew Foster — no relation to Caleb Foster — had recused himself from the case. The district attorney is close friends with Moon’s father and initially represented Moon in the case before being elected district attorney in November 2014.
In a separate court memo, McKee acknowledge that his client had been drinking on the night of the crash but added that the claim he had consumed 30 beers was dubious. He also said Moon, who has worked at Wesmac Custom Boats in Surry since he was 17, has not encountered any legal problems in the past couple of years and has maintained full compliance with his bail conditions.
Moon is the father of a 6-year-old son and a father figure to his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son, and has overcome difficult childhood circumstances that left him “with little to no parental guidance,” McKee wrote. McKee did not specify what the circumstances were.
“While Steven clearly had issues with alcohol in his younger years, he has totally and completely turned his life around and is a highly valuable and indispensable employee who is dependable, kind and extremely hardworking,” the defense attorney indicated.
The owners of Wesmac — Linda Greenlaw, the author and fishing boat captain, and her husband, Steve Wessel — each wrote letters to Murray testifying to Moon’s character, saying that Moon is one of their more valued employees. He is talented, conscientious and a good father, they each said.
“He has grown to be an outstanding young man whom anyone who knows thinks very highly of,” Greenlaw wrote. “He has earned my trust, confidence and admiration.”
Contacted Thursday, McKee said he, his client and Moon’s supporters were “pleased” that he received a sentence that will allow him to serve his time at Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth instead of in a state prison. It will make it easier for family and friends to visit him, McKee said, and he will be eligible to participate in the jail’s work release program, subject to the approval of Sheriff Scott Kane.
Whether or not Moon is approved for the work release program, the defense attorney added, Wessel and Greenlaw have indicated they will welcome him back as soon as he is available.
“They’re very anxious to have him back as soon as possible,” McKee said.
Toffolon said Thursday that he did not have any issues with the nine-month jail term imposed on Moon.
“I thought the judge did a good job analyzing all the factors that he had to weigh,” the prosecutor said.
