By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

Bruce Lavallee-Davidson had the chance to take a plea bargain and possibly get a lighter sentence for the shooting death of South Portland resident Fred Wilson.

But he spurned the state’s offer and now could go to prison for as long as 30 years.

Lavallee-Davidson was convicted of manslaughter last week for the death of Wilson. After a three-day trial in Superior Court in Portland the jury needed only 25 minutes to reach a guilty verdict.

“He [Lavallee-Davidson] didn’t have to do this [go to trial],” said Kim Wilson, Fred Wilson’s sister. 

“He could have accepted responsibility for his actions and taken the plea that the state had offered him. The truth of the matter is if he had pled out, I might be willing to take his apology because he would be stepping up and being a responsible individual.”

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese, who prosecuted Lavalle-Davidson, declined to offer specifics about the plea deal but said, “It’s very common in criminal cases to have plea discussions. They didn’t end up working out. The defendant had the right to go to trial and he did.” 

 Fred Wilson lived at 25 Henry St. in the Willard Beach neighborhood and was killed at his home April 18, 2009, by a single gunshot wound to the head. Lavallee-Davidson fired the fatal shot from his own .44-caliber revolver following a 12-hour sex party that began the previous night. 

Lavallee-Davidson will be sentenced by Justice Robert E. Crowley on March 26. Until then, the 50-year old organic farmer from Skowhegan will remain free on $10,000 cash bail. Lavallee-Davidson chose not to testify during the trial. He could serve anywhere from four to 30 years in prison since his crime involved the use of a gun, said Marchese. 

“I’m obviously very pleased by the verdict. This was such reckless conduct. I really believed that he should be found criminally responsible for engaging in such reckless acts with a firearm,” Marchese said.

Defense attorney Mike Whipple said his side was disappointed by the verdict and is considering an appeal to the Maine State Supreme Court. 

“At this stage, we’re moving past the jury’s decision. We’ll go over the record and look for errors and appellate issues. We’re going to be looking for any opportunity to appeal. We’ll do whatever it takes to protect him (Lavallee-Davidson),” Whipple said.

Kim Wilson, 54, testified for the state. She sat through the entire trial and promised to return to Maine from her Burbank, Calif., home to make a victim’s impact statement at the sentencing hearing in March.

Wilson probated her brother’s estate and sold the Henry Street house last month to a couple from Staten Island, N.Y., according to the city’s tax assessor’s office.

Ray Lee was one of Fred Wilson’s neighbors. He said he was scheduled to appear as a witness for the defense on the trial’s final day, but shortly before closing arguments began, Whipple told Lee to go home because they didn’t need his testimony. 

Lee said he was surprised to be identified as a witness for the defense because he was Fred Wilson’s friend and had little sympathy for Lavallee-Davidson.

“I was a better neighbor than anybody else. Fred was a heck of a nice guy. He would do anything in the world for you,” Lee said. “I think they should have convicted him [Lavallee-Davidson] of murder.”

The victim was killed in the basement of his home, ending the party that also included James Pombriant, 65, of Auburn. The party featured sex between the three openly gay men, drug use and dangerous gun play, according to witnesses  called to the stand.

Whipple said his client felt “miserable” about the verdict and the death of Fred Wilson. 

“He’s devastated, not for his own loss. He’s lost a friend. His prayers go out to Kim Wilson,” Whipple said.

Kim Wilson said she felt the defense tried to put her brother on trial by contending he asked Lavallee-Davidson to play roulette to increase his sexual pleasure. She was also upset because the defense implied Fred Wilson loaded the gun while Lavallee-Davidson was out of the room.

“I wasn’t happy they tried to try my brother, the victim in this case, thinking they could get their client off that way. I was glad the jury saw through that, looked at the case, looked at the law and made a decision based on the law,” Kim Wilson said. 

“They put Fred Wilson on trial,” Marchese said. “Fred Wilson was a victim in this case. It wasn’t right, in my view, and apparently didn’t work to put him on trial.” 

Pombriant testified he never saw any of the three guns at the party get loaded or unloaded and he never heard any conversation about playing roulette. The Auburn resident was the only eyewitness to the shooting, which occurred when all three men were involved in a sex game.

As the prosecution’s star witness, Pombriant testified Lavallee-Davidson tried to convince him to tell the police Fred Wilson committed suicide. Pombriant refused to go along with the defendant’s plot.

Pombriant reported the shooting as an accidental death to the South Portland Police Department on the night of April 18, approximately 14 hours after Fred Wilson’s death. Lavallee-Davidson waited until 24 hours after the crime before meeting with police detectives.

“He (Lavallee-Davidson) was looking for a way out from the moment he shot my brother,” Kim Wilson said.

 Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.