Brothers plead guilty in Maine rest stop killing

WEST BATH – Two brothers charged in the fatal shooting of a New Hampshire man at a visitor information center changed their pleas to guilty on Friday.

Shawn and Ryan Hopkins initially had pleaded innocent to the May 17, 2004, murder of Julius Petrovic of Bretton Woods, N.H. Petrovic, 60, was shot in broad daylight through the window of his parked sport utility vehicle in the information center parking lot off Interstate 295 in Yarmouth.

At Friday’s hearing, 23-year-old Ryan Hopkins, who was the triggerman, pleaded guilty to murder and robbery. He’ll be sentenced in late August or early September under an agreement that calls for a 42-year prison term for murder and a concurrent 40 years for robbery, said Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson.

Shawn Hopkins, 28, who drove the getaway car, entered his pleas at a separate hearing. He stands to get 30 years for felony murder and a concurrent 20 years for robbery, Benson said.

Prosecutors alleged that the brothers were attempting to rob Petrovic when Ryan Hopkins shot him in the chest with a .40-caliber Glock pistol. Police said the brothers were drug abusers who had lengthy criminal records.

Petrovic worked at hotels from Maine to Florida, and for more than a decade was the maitre d’ at Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor.

The brothers were arrested five days after the shooting while driving on the Maine Turnpike in Cumberland.

Police later said that Ryan Hopkins told his estranged wife and two others before his arrest that he was the triggerman in the shooting.

The alleged murder weapon was found under a couch in a motel room in Old Orchard Beach where Shawn Hopkins lived with his girlfriend. Police said a shell casing found at the crime scene was ejected by the gun.

On Monday, the brothers were in federal court where they pleaded guilty to three firearms charges. They face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge.

The federal charges resulted from the discovery of a shotgun that had been illegally shortened when the brothers were arrested.