Prentiss man charged with murder to remain in jail

BANGOR – A Prentiss man accused of shooting his friend in the back of the head after snorting cocaine earlier this month will remain behind bars at the Penobscot County Jail until his case is resolved.

Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy denied bail to Joseph Dumas, 48. He is charged with murdering his friend, 70-year-old Mario “Sonny” Litterio of Prentiss, near some camps on Tar Ridge Road in Prentiss where Dumas was working on Nov. 8.

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson argued that the judge had the discretion to grant bail only if she found that Dumas was not a flight risk, posed no danger to the community, other individuals or himself, and was unlikely to commit new crimes while on bail.

The judge found that Dumas was not a flight risk but ruled that his release would put the community at risk and allow the defendant to break the law again.

“Given the almost random quality of the event,” Murphy said, “there’s a substantial risk for new criminal conduct.”

Dumas’ attorney, Richard Hartley of Bangor, asked that the judge set bail at $50,000 surety. He said that was the amount of equity Dumas and his wife, Cheryl Dumas, had in their Prentiss property.

Members of Dumas’ family attended the hearing but expressed no emotion when Murphy announced her ruling shortly after an hour-long session that included testimony from an investigator to whom Dumas allegedly confessed.

Very few defendants charged with murder are released on bail.

Maine State Police Detective Brian Strout recounted how Dumas told him and Detective Darryl Peary how the defendant allegedly killed Litterio. As Strout described how Dumas sat at his kitchen table and explained how he had raised a .38-caliber revolver that belonged to Litterio and shot his friend in the back of the head, Dumas hung his own head in his hands and wept as he sat at the defense table next to his attorney.

“He was very emotional and broke down,” Strout testified of his conversation with Dumas. “He said he didn’t know why he did that to [his] friend.”

Little new information was revealed at Tuesday’s hearing. Strout did say that Dumas had been convicted of first-degree robbery and larceny in 1980 in Connecticut. He was sentenced to three to eight years in prison in that state but it was not made clear how much time he served.

Dumas and his family moved to the Prentiss area 19 years ago and built the home they live in, Harley said.

Strout also gave more details about the results of the autopsy performed on Litterio’s body. The victim was shot twice in the head with the .38-caliber weapon and had two superficial wounds on his right shoulder and right ear, caused by bullets from the same gun. Litterio also had been shot in the head with Dumas’ black powder rifle.

Litterio’s death was discovered Nov. 9 when Dumas was treated at Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln for minor injuries after a car accident, according to court documents. He allegedly told a radiology technician that he was going to prison because he had shot and killed someone.

Strout testified Tuesday that Dumas told him and Peary where to find Litterio’s body. Following a map drawn by the defendant, Strout said he and other investigators found the victim’s remains easily on Nov. 10.

If convicted, Dumas faces 25 years to life in prison.