By Paul Sylvain

A Robbinston woman accused of murdering her former lover and principal drug supplier last year in Pembroke, faces a prison sentence of 32 years after changing her plea to guilty in Washington County Superior Court on Dec. 7.

In changing her plea from not guilty to guilty, Rebecca Moores, 43, admitted to shooting 53-year-old Paula Johnson in Johnson’s home at 515 Leighton Point Rd, in Pembroke, on Feb. 9, 2022, Moores was arrested in Pembroke on July 6, 2022, and charged with Johnson’s murder.

Rebecca Moores, left, listens with her attorney, Stephon Smith of Augusta, as Justice Robert Murray Jr., explains the rights she is giving up by pleading guilty to murdering 53-year-old Paula Johnson on Feb. 9, in Pembroke. Photo by Paul Sylvain.

According to Assistant Attorney General Leanne Zainea’s offer of proof at last week’s plea hearing, Johnson was a well-known drug dealer in Pembroke and Moores was one of her best customers.

An autopsy conducted Feb. 10, 2022, listed the cause of death as a single, close-contact gunshot wound to the head. According to the medical examiner’s report, a 9mm bullet entered behind Johnson’s right ear and exited near her left ear. A “high level of fentanyl” also was found in Johnson’s system, Zainea said.

Johnson’s body was found slumped to the side on the recliner side of a sofa with a blood-filled syringe on the arm of the sofa, Zainea said.

Zainea testified Moores was aware that Johnson had received a large shipment of cocaine and heroin on Feb. 6, just three days before the shooting. She added that Moores told police during an interview before her arrest that several people knew Johnson kept a 9mm handgun in her home. 

Zainea also told the court that Moores and Johnson had previously been in a relationship together that had since broken up. Zainea said evidence in the case suggesting Moores was upset at the break-up included Facebook messages between Moores and Johnson arguing about their relationship.

In pleading guilty Moores faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Zainea, who is prosecuting the case for the state, recommended a 32-year prison sentence, which both Moores and her attorney, Stephen Smith of Augusta, told Justice Robert Murray Jr, they agreed to.

Formal sentencing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, in Washington County Superior Court in Machias.