BANGOR – A New Vineyard man that fatally shot an intruder two-and-a-half years ago at a Rangeley residence was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison on drug and firearm charges in U.S. District Court yesterday.
Jordan Richard, 26 of New Vineyard, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, a Class C felony, and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, a Class A felony. Those guilty pleas were entered in June 2018, relating to a shooting incident that occurred in July 2016 in Rangeley on Main Street.
According to a court document detailing the U.S. Attorneys’ version of events, Richard participated in a conspiracy operating within the state between Jan. 1, 2016 and Sept. 20, 2017 that distributed cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone. Richard would obtain the drugs from an out-of-state supplier and bring them to his then-residence in Rangeley, where the drugs would be weighed and packaged for resale. Sales were made out of the Rangeley residence, the prosecution believed, with money and drugs stored within.
On July 28, 2016, two men arrived at the Rangeley residence. Richard and a yet-unidentified drug distribution co-conspirator were in the living room and when Richard went to the door, the men forced themselves inside. Both men had knives, according to the court document.
While the first intruder forced the co-conspirator to the living room floor, holding a knife on him and asking “where is it?”, the second intruder chased Richard into the back of the house and the two began to fight. This continued until a neighbor, drawn by the disturbance, came to the door. The first intruder left the the living room went to the door. The co-conspirator that had previously been held at knifepoint fled out the back of the residence, past the still-fighting Richard and second intruder.
When the co-conspirator returned, he found Richard had been stabbed and was bleeding. The second intruder had been shot and was dead. He was identified by Maine State Police as Michael Bokun, 29 of Manhattan, N.Y. It was later determined that he had been shot twice by a Beretta, model BU9 Nano, 9-millimeter handgun.
The first intruder fled the scene on foot after being struck by a hammer in the head by a neighbor who was attempting to get him to stop an assault upon Richard. U.S. Border Patrol agents located that man a short distance away. He was later identified as Hector Munoz, 48, of New York City, N.Y. and was arrested on a probation violation.
The co-conspirator was given bags of cocaine and oxycodone tablets from a safe by Richard and told to get them out of the house. Eventually, after a search warrant was executed by law enforcement, investigators discovered significant evidence of drug trafficking in the residence, including scales, drug ledgers, packaging materials and a safe that contained more cocaine and a little more than $20,000 in cash.
After the July 2016 shooting incident, the prosecution alleges that Richard moved to a New Vineyard residence and, after a period of inactivity, continued to engage in trafficking. In spring and fall of 2017, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration used confidential sources to purchase cocaine, heroin and fentanyl from Richard. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Sept. 20, 2017, finding evidence of trafficking, including oxycodone tablets.
The conspiracy charge relates to Richard’s trafficking activity in northern Franklin County. The firearm charge relates to the shooting incident.
In the defendant’s sentencing memorandum, attorney Leonard Sharon asked for a term of imprisonment of less than 10 years. In the document, Sharon argued that Richard had fired his gun to save his own life after he was attacked with a baseball bat and a knife in his home, and that his injuries had necessitated transportation via LifeFlight to Central Maine Medical Center.
U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank, in a document submitted to the court on behalf of the government, noted that Richard had continued to engage in drug trafficking out of the New Vineyard residence, even after the July 2016 shooting incident.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Richard to 40 months on the conspiracy charge and 120 months on the firearm charge. The sentences will be served consecutively, yielding a 13-year, 4-month prison sentence. He will be on supervised release for three years following the conclusion of that sentence.
Additionally, $20,883 and the Beretta handgun seized by police will be forfeited to the government.
