State supreme court upholds Lewiston murder convictions

PORTLAND – The state supreme court on Tuesday upheld the convictions of two Lewiston men who blamed each other for murdering an elderly man and contended they should have been granted separate trials.

Shaun Tuttle and David Lakin both claimed they were passed out drunk while the other ran over an 81-year-old man with his own car in North Turner.

The defendants, both in their mid 20s, were convicted last year of murder and kidnapping for the March 2004 death of James McManus, whose body was found stuffed in his car’s trunk. Lakin is serving a 52-year sentence and Tuttle is serving 47 years.

Tuttle and Lakin contended that Superior Court Justice Thomas E. Delahanty II overstepped his bounds in denying their requests to be tried separately.

But the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Delahanty acted within his discretion. Judges have long tried defendants together to promote efficiency, as long as doing so does not infringe upon the defendants’ right to a fair trial.

“The United States Supreme Court has never said, nor have we, that severance is required solely because co-defendants offer conflicting defenses,” Justice Robert Clifford wrote in the court’s unanimous ruling.

Clifford noted that the state supreme court already upheld combined trials in 1999 in a similar case involving a murder in Lewiston.

In that case, Brad Chesnel and Leroy Tomah both were convicted in the killing of Michael Allen, who was beaten to death in a motel room. Both defendants admitted being present but accused each other of the fatal attack.

In the case involving Tuttle and Lakin, both men admitted to drinking together at a pub before going to McManus’ apartment on March 9, 2004.

The men demanded the keys to McManus’ car, then wrapped a belt around McManus’ neck and forced him into his car, the supreme court said.

They drove McManus to a secluded dirt road in Turner, where he was strangled and run over. He died when the car crushed his skull.

At sentencing, Lakin did not address the court. Tuttle said he was innocent of murder but admitted he did not act to stop the assault.

Delahanty said both men played a role. “Mr. Lakin was the obvious catalyst,” he said. “Tuttle was willing to be his assistant.”