Derald Coffin’s young son, Levi, held his mother’s hand as they walked to the front of the courtroom to address his father’s convicted killer.

A victim witness advocate read his mother’s statement about all the milestones Levi’s father will miss – his first day of kindergarten, hunting and fishing trips, soccer games and karate practice.

“I know the best parts of him will live on through his son,” wrote his mother, Dana Wallace.

Members of Coffin’s family gathered Thursday at Cumberland County Superior Court for the sentencing of 24-year-old Damion Butterfield, who pleaded guilty in December to killing Coffin and shooting and injuring Annabelle Hartnett, Coffin’s friend.

Butterfield was sentenced to 35 years under a plea deal he reached with prosecutors after nearly two weeks of trial, shortly after the jury had reached its verdict. Superior Court Justice MaryGay Kennedy denied his request last month to withdraw that plea and get a new trial.

Butterfield was one of four men charged in connection with the shooting. The group had conspired to rob Coffin and Hartnett early in the morning of April 26, 2022, while the two sat inside Hartnett’s Range Rover while it was parked on Woodford Street in Portland.

Prosecutors say Butterfield surprised the group by shooting Coffin and Hartnett during the attack. He and two other men fled the scene before police arrived.

Butterfield later turned himself in to Saco Police on a probation violation. He refused to tell detectives anything about the shooting when they met with him weeks later.

Butterfield’s attorneys say they continue to believe in their client’s innocence and that he’s taking the fall for the other men, all twice his age, one of whom testified against him at trial and identified Butterfield as the shooter to police. They’ve described him as mentally ill with poor impulse control.

“Your lawyer has referred to you as a kid through this entire case,” Coffin’s brother Terry Leonard Jr. said. “To which you are not. You are a scared little boy in a man’s body who wants to (instill) fears in others. My brother did nothing to you in anyway that deserves his death.”

UNUSUAL PLEA

Butterfield did not address the court on Thursday.

His attorney, James Howaniec, briefly mentioned the arguments they made in their motions to withdraw Butterfield’s plea.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue said the only reason prosecutors offered Butterfield a 35-year plea deal in the first place was to offer Coffin’s family closure.

“We felt this was a way for this family to finally get this case resolved,” Bogue said.

Leonard, the victim’s brother, said he believed last year that Butterfield was taking responsibility.

“But you then did the opposite,” Leonard said. “Our pain and suffering was only drawn out for four months. I imagine you will only continue to appeal as long as the system allows you to.”

Kennedy said it was Butterfield’s right to withdraw his plea, even though she denied the motion. She also mentioned Butterfield’s “remarkably awful upbringing” and said not all of his family history was revealed in open court.

Coffin’s family has attended countless hearings in Butterfield’s case, as well as those for the other three men charged.

Butterfield is the only one to go to trial.

Jonathan Geisinger, 46, still faces a felony murder charge. He had no court dates scheduled as of Wednesday, according to a clerk, but is listed for a tentative trial in August 2025, according to the attorney general’s office.

Anthony Osborne, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and was sentenced in February to serve eight years in prison. Prosecutors have said Osborne orchestrated the attack.

Thomas MacDonald, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of hindering apprehension in April 2023 and is still waiting to be sentenced. He has denied having any physical role in the attack or planning of it, testifying last year he was only present.

TO HELP OTHERS

Coffin was 43 years old when he died. He was father to Levi and teenager Darielle Coffin, who sat behind Leonard Thursday as he addressed Butterfield.

He struggled for years with substance use disorder, and in the hours before his death, he had been driving around Portland hoping to find drugs.

But this didn’t define him, his loved ones said.

Coffin was living in Portland when he died but he came from the Midcoast area, where much of his family still lives.

“He never wavered from where he came from,” said Dottie Allard, his aunt.

He grew up with several siblings, raised by a mother who took people in when they needed help.

Days before his death he was at his grandfather’s funeral. He told his family he wanted to come home, get better and return to Portland so he could be an advocate for others.

His mother, Cheri Gilley, said in court that she misses watching Coffin banter with his brothers.

“I will never see him walk through my door, being playful and funny and helpful,” Gilley said, crying. “To lose him has been crushing.”

Staff Writer Morgan Womack contributed to this report.

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