‘It’s so unfair’
In accepting 4½-year recommendation for Joshua Kristopher Raines, 49, judge tells loved ones of shooting victim Lucas Richard Solomon Polchies, 27, no sentence erase their pain
Though it was Joshua Kristopher Raines who was in court in custody Thursday for sentencing for manslaughter, a judge ensured the spotlight was on the victim’s family and friends, and their profound grief.
Raines, 49, of Route 565 in Holmesville, between Perth Andover and Florenceville-Bristol, pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in the March 12, 2023, shooting death of Lucas Richard Solomon Polchies, 27.
He’d originally been charged with second-degree murder in the case, but he admitted to the lesser, included crime in March 2025 and was released from custody.
A sentencing hearing was held two weeks ago, and Judge Mélanie Poirier LeBlanc reserved her decision on sentence until Thursday and remanded Raines again in the interim.
