On a summer afternoon in Lewiston, Maine, the life of 20-year-old John Paquin of Worcester, Massachusetts, was brought to a violent and tragic end. It was just after 4 p.m. on July 17, 2022, when Lewiston police were called to the vicinity of 30 Howe Street for a reported shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered John Paquin, a White male, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to Central Maine Medical Center, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the young man's death was swift. The lower part of Howe Street was cordoned off for hours as detectives from the Maine State Police and the Lewiston Police Department processed the scene and interviewed witnesses. Their attention soon focused on a residence at 12 Howe Street. In the early hours of the following morning, a search warrant was executed at the apartment of 28-year-old Mark J. Sinclair. Sinclair was taken into custody, initially on outstanding warrants for domestic violence terrorizing, criminal mischief, and violation of bail.
As the investigation progressed, a grim narrative of Paquin's final moments emerged, captured by city surveillance cameras. The footage showed Paquin in a conversation with Sinclair and another man near 32 Howe Street. Paquin stood with his hands behind his back as they spoke. Suddenly, Sinclair was seen pulling out a handgun and shooting Paquin multiple times. After Paquin fell face down to the ground, Sinclair approached him and fired another shot into the back of his head in what prosecutors would later describe as an "execution." The two men then fled to Sinclair's nearby apartment. A witness who heard the gunshots described Sinclair, who was wearing a face mask, and saw him run into his building.
During the search of Sinclair's apartment, investigators found a 9 mm Taurus handgun on the kitchen counter, consistent with the six 9 mm shell casings recovered at the scene of the shooting. Police also discovered clothing matching the description of what Sinclair was wearing at the time of the murder. Following an autopsy that ruled Paquin's death a homicide, Mark J. Sinclair was charged with murder. In May 2024, Sinclair pleaded guilty to the charge of intentional or knowing murder. He was subsequently sentenced to 33 years in prison for the killing of John Paquin.
