PARIS — Richard A. Moulton Jr. was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday for his role in the 2009 murders of Victor Reed Sheldon and Roger Leroy Day Jr.
The sentence was the maximum time allowed under a deal last November in exchange for Moulton’s agreement to plead guilty and testify against other parties involved in the murders. His defense attorney, Ron Hoffman, argued for a 25 year sentence.
Before Hoffman spoke, Moulton read a statement apologizing to the victims’ families and to his own. Through tears, he promised to use his time in prison to further his education, be a better father and become a productive member of society.
In 2009, Moulton arranged for his friend Eric Hamel to kill Victor Sheldon and, if necessary, Roger Day. On Aug. 3, Hamel shot both men in Day’s apartment, where Victor Sheldon had been living.
Moulton later told investigators that his girlfriend, Sheldon’s estranged wife Gayla Sheldon, planned the murders. In July, Gayla Sheldon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and criminal solicitation. She will serve 15 years, with four years of probation afterward.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson said that by Maine’s sentencing criteria, Moulton would be close to a life sentence, and that mitigating factors would bring him to about 50-55 years. The 40 year sentence offered in exchange for his cooperation was a good deal for Moulton, he said.
Hoffman said 25 years would be more fair, considering the sentence Gayla Sheldon received. He said the woman masterminded the murder, and used Moulton’s love for her to manipulate him. He told him she was pregnant with his child, a claim she told Moulton was false after his arrest, Hoffman said.
She told him to enlist someone to kill her husband, and Moulton went to Eric Hamel, a friend from high school. Gayla Sheldon was going to pay Hamel $2,000 in monthly installments for the murder, Hoffman said.
“This was an older woman who was much more worldly than Mr. Moulton,” he said. Moulton was 19 at the time of the murder. Sheldon was 23. He had previously dated her when he was a teenager, but his parents told him to stop dating her.
Justice Robert Clifford agreed with Benson. Moulton received 40 years for each offense, to be served concurrently. Clifford said he was sympathetic to the mitigating factors, including Moulton’s cooperation with investigators, but noted that he was “instrumental” in getting Hamel involved.
After the sentencing, Moulton’s father Richard Moulton Sr. said his son was “a victim” of Gayla Sheldon. He said he felt “terrible” for the victims’ families.
“He was caught up in a situation he should have never been caught in,” Moulton’s stepmother, Martha Moulton said.
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- Richard Moulton Jr., 22, left, and his attorney, Ron Hoffman, listen as Justice Robert Clifford sentences Moulton to 40 years in prison at Oxford County Superior Court in Paris on Monday.
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- Richard Moulton Sr. and Martha Moulton talk about their son, Richard Moulton Jr., who was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday for the murders of two Rumford man in August 2009.
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