PORTLAND — The Portland man accused of fatally stabbing another man last year pleaded guilty to murder in Cumberland County Superior Court this morning.
Shawn Garland, 26, was accused of killing 58-year-old Richard Meyers in Garland’s Grant Street apartment in August 2010.
Garland faces up to 35 years in prison, according to the terms of the plea agreement. Murder carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum of life. Garland is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
J.P. DeGrinney, Garland’s lawyer, said his client recently decided to plead guilty.
DeGrinney said mental health issues and self-defense claim would have figured largely if the case had gone to trial. DeGrinney said that Garland was drunk at the time and that there had been a history of Meyers abusing Garland.
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