The man accused of killing one person and injuring two others in a 2012 shooting in Portland will serve 12 years of a 30-year sentence, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Zachary Phach pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to one count of felony murder and three counts of attempted murder, his attorney Timothy Zerillo told the Portland newspaper. A spokesperson for the Maine attorney general’s office confirmed the plea deal to the Portland Press Herald, but declined to comment on the case.
Phach, 33, was arrested in 2021. He was indicted alongside Khang Tran, 29, who pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy last fall and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Police say Phach and Tran shot Matthew Blanchard and his brothers to settle a “beef” with them and that Phach was the one who pulled the trigger, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Phach and Tran were extradited to Maine from a Pennsylvania correctional facility for the trials.
Cumberland County Superior Justice John O’Neil is scheduled to sentence Phach on Dec. 11, according to the Portland Press Herald.
“This plea will not bring back Matt, [but] I hope that it will bring closure for the Blanchard family,” interim Portland Police Chief Robert Martin said in a statement. “I am proud of the work done by our detectives to bring this case to a close. These arrests and guilty pleas are the result of hundreds of hours of work by dozens of investigators, over the past 11 years.”
Jules Walkup is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by BDN readers.
