Keith Suitter, 61, of Houlton. (Photo Courtesy of Maine State Police)
HOULTON, Maine — Expressing no remorse and smirking as he left the courtroom, a Houlton man was sentenced to 65 years in prison for the brutal murder of another resident more than two years ago.
Reginald Dobbins Jr. remained expressionless as Aroostook County Superior Court Justice Harold Stewart II handed down the sentence for the beating and stabbing death of Keith Suitter on March 1, 2015. Dobbins was found guilty of murder after an eight day trial in June.
More than 20 members of Suitter’s family were in the courtroom, and several addressed Dobbins before he was sentenced. The family members had had requested that Dobbins receive life in prison.
“This was a pre-planned, heinous murder,” Suitter’s sister, Donna McGillicuddy, told the judge. “He has no remorse and after the murder he went home and went to sleep like nothing happened. There is a huge hole in our heart that cannot be filled.
Dobbins was 18 when he was accused of the brutal killing during what the prosecution described as a robbery at the 61-year-old Suitter’s mobile home.
An autopsy revealed that Suitter suffered 21 blunt-force trauma blows, consistent with having been inflicted by a hammer, according to the state medical examiner, and 10 stab wounds to the head and back.
A co-defendant in the case, Samuel Geary, 18, of Houlton, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced in September to 40 years in prison for his role in the killing.
Prosecutor John Alsop, who requested that Dobbins be sentenced to at least 75 years in prison, called the murder “gruesome and sadistic.” He contended that Dobbins had never shown any remorse for the crime and had used the money he stole from Suitter’s home to buy a video game.
Alsop noted that Dobbins had been having anger outbursts since the sixth grade, according to a pre-sentencing report, and that the teenager had been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder and had features of antisocial personality disorder.
“There is little to no hope for his rehabilitation,” the prosecutor said.
The defense team, led by attorney Hunter Tzovarras, argued for a 50-year sentence. He said there was no evidence that the crime was a “thrill kill” and that Suitter’s murder had been carried out “relatively quick” and was not a “drawn out, painful death.”
Dobbins’ mother, Christie Dobbins, apologized to the Suitter family and said that she did not believe her son was sane when he committed the murder.
Suitter’s daughter, Kristin Moore, said through tears that Dobbins had killed her only parent, rendering she and her two siblings, “orphans.” She told Moore that her father was a hard working house painter and veteran who adored his children and grandchildren and would do anything for anyone. She said that her father used to buy her children new bicycles every spring.
“To this day, I can’t buy them bikes now,” she said.
In handing down the sentence, Stewart said that Dobbins had showed no remorse, taken no responsibility for his role in the crime, and given a variety of untruthful statements to police after the killing. The judge also cited the heinous nature of the crime and its impact on the community.
Dobbins smirked at members of the media as he left the courtroom.
