Andrew Stallings of Rumford appears Thursday in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn, flanked by his attorneys, Jesse Archer and Paul Corey. He pleaded guilty to two robbery charges in connection with a fatal shooting in Lewiston in 2022. Christopher Williams/Sun Journal
AUBURN — A Rumford man charged as an accomplice in the 2022 fatal shooting of a Lewiston man was sentenced Thursday to serve eight years in prison on two lesser charges.
Andrew Stallings of Rumford appears in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn in 2022 in connection with the October 2022 killing of a Lewiston man. Screenshot from video
Andrew Stallings, 38, pleaded guilty in Androscoggin County Superior Court to two counts of robbery, each felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
After negotiating a plea with prosecutors, Stallings agreed to a sentence of 14 years in prison with six years suspended, leaving eight years he will remain behind bars.
Additional charges of felony murder and burglary were dismissed Thursday.
When he is released from prison, Stallings will be on probation for four years.
During that time, he will be prohibited from having any dangerous weapons, including firearms. And he must have no contact with the victim’s family.
His co-defendant in the case, Barry Zollarcoffer, 49, of Lewiston faces a charge of intentional or knowing murder, a crime which carries a sentence of 25 years to life.
He he is being held without bail pending trial, which is tentatively scheduled for February.
Assistant Attorney General Robert “Bud” Ellis told Justice Jennifer Archer on Thursday what evidence he would have presented against Stallings had the case gone to trial.
He said Zollarcoffer showed up at the apartment of Nicholas Blake at 70 River St. Lewiston on the night of Oct. 19, 2022.
Zollarcoffer forced a falling Blake through the doorway, pointing a handgun at him, demanding a gun, drug paraphernalia and money, an eyewitness told investigators.
Stallings entered the apartment behind Zollarcoffer, who is Stallings’ cousin.
As a woman attempted to flee the apartment, Stallings, following instructions from Zollarcoffer, grabbed at her, taking her phone, before she was able to break free and run out of the apartment.
When she was outside, she heard a gunshot inside the apartment, she told police.
A camera later located in the apartment showed events as the woman had described them, as well as Zollarcoffer shooting Blake, Ellis said.
Blake and Zollarcoffer had known each other from painting jobs, the witness told police.
Ellis said it was clear that Stallings had been following directions from Zollarcoffer, including, initially, demanding items from Blake.
Blake’s mother, Marketa Tikander, told the judge Thursday that her son left behind a 15-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son.
She displayed in the courtroom photos of Blake’s family members.
“Life can change in the blink of an eye,” she said.
When she learned her son had been murdered, she said, “I fell to my knees and cried uncontrollably, the hurt, the pain.”
“No one deserves to be murdered,” she said.
“My world without my son is so lonely,” she said. “I really hurt for my grandchildren.”
Tikander said, “We, as a family, did not want this plea deal.”
Justice Archer conveyed her sympathies.
“It’s tragic that a life was lost and that his children are not going to experience all the joys of having spent time with their father,” Archer said.
The facts of the case support the agreement, Archer said before accepting Stalling’s pleas and imposing his sentence.
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