Police tape prevents access to Mount Joseph at Waterville at 7 Highwood St., where police say Richard Hatt, 57, of Clinton shot Stephen Killam, 47, of Fairfield at about 6:30 a.m. Oct. 15. Hatt, who is charged with Killam’s murder, was denied bail Monday. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

AUGUSTA — A Clinton man who allegedly shot and killed a Fairfield man in Waterville last month, was denied bail Monday.

Richard Hatt, 53, is accused of the murder of Stephen Killam Oct. 15 in the parking lot of Mount Joseph at Waterville, a rehabilitation and nursing center at 7 Highwood St. in Waterville, prosecutors said.

Richard Hatt, 53, of Clinton during a video appearance Oct. 16 at his initial court appearance at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Hatt falsely believed Killam was having an ongoing affair with his longtime girlfriend, authorities said.

At the bail hearing at the Capital Judicial Center, Justice Michaela Murphy said there was ample probable cause to indicate Hatt knowingly or intentionally killed Killam and that Hatt would pose a substantial risk to public safety if released on bail.

Hatt allegedly approached a car driven by Killam in the parking lot of Mount Joseph at Waterville, where Killam and his girlfriend worked. Killam’s girlfriend was in the passenger’s seat. Hatt allegedly fired several shots into the windshield, then continued shooting at Killam as he approached the driver’s side of the vehicle. Ackerman said 14 bullets were recovered from Killam’s body.

Earlier on the morning of the shooting, Hatt allegedly invaded a Winter Street home in Waterville and assaulted a man there who he apparently mistook for Killam. Assistant Attorney General Jen Ackerman said Hatt left when he learned he had the wrong person. He then decided that since he would likely face jail for the assault, he would seek out Killam and kill him.

Hatt admitted to police he shot Killam with a 9 mm handgun, according to an affidavit filed by state police Detective Nicholas Watson. He also admitted to “knowing Stephen was dead and then shooting more rounds out of spite and hate.” He told police he shot multiple times until the gun’s slide locked. He said he was aiming “center mass” and after he killed Killam he contemplated suicide because he didn’t want to go to prison. Hatt apologized, Watson’s affidavit states, “for what others went through but believed Stephen deserved being shot.”

Testimony indicated Hatt suffered delusions that Killam, 47, of Fairfield, was having an affair with a woman Hatt believed to be his girlfriend.Thomas Carey, one of two attorneys assigned to represent Hatt, said that belief was not true nor based in reality.

Carey argued that Hatt is suffering from mental health issues and also has major health problems that would not be effectively treated while he is in a county jail.  Carey said Hatt would not pose a risk to society because his delusions were focused entirely on his belief Killam was having an affair with his girlfriend. Carey said the fact that Hatt mistook a random stranger for Killam, entered his home and assaulted him with a handgun, is further evidence that Hatt was suffering from mental health problems that day.

“That’s very clear at that time the defendant had something significant going on with him and his ability to perceive reality,” Carey said. “He was operating in a completely different reality.”

Ackerman countered that having killed the person he was fixated on does not mean Hatt doesn’t still pose a risk to others in society, including Killam’s girlfriend. She said Hatt should remain held without bail because he is a flight risk, a risk to public safety, and, with a history of violent crimes, is likely to commit additional crimes.

Killam’s girlfriend told police she and Killam drove to work together around 6 a.m. Oct. 15. When they parked outside Mount Joseph at Waterville, Hatt came over and shot into the car with a handgun, hitting Killam. She screamed, put her hands up, and somehow was not struck by any bullets. She said after the shooting Hatt fled in his truck, which she recognized from prior interactions.

Killam and his girlfriend had temporary protection orders against Hatt, police said. His girlfriend said a feud with Hatt had been ongoing since 2018.

Hatt has not yet entered a plea, nor been indicted. He made his initial court appearance Oct. 16.

Waterville police officers responded to the scene Oct. 15 after receiving reports of multiple gunshots.

Witnesses reported seeing a black Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck leaving. They gave police the license plate number. Police were alerted to be on the lookout for the truck that morning, and just before 9 a.m. Chief Rusty Bell of the Clinton Police Department located the truck and Hatt in Clinton.

Bell, who said he has known Hatt for years, thought the man might go to his sister’s residence on Battle Ridge Road in Clinton.

That is where Bell found Hatt, standing with his sister and her husband on her lawn. Hatt surrendered to Bell, who placed him under arrest. A 9 mm handgun was found on Hatt, according to Watson’s affidavit, more firearms were found in the truck, and Hatt also gave a gun to his brother-in-law but said that wasn’t the gun used in the shooting. He said he had discarded that gun.

Hatt’s criminal record in Maine includes numerous convictions since 1990, including several felony-level counts of burglary and theft, several misdemeanor-level charges of assault, a misdemeanor-level domestic violence assault and felony-level counts of tampering with a witness, criminal threatening and aggravated assault, according to the state Bureau of Identification.

Several friends and family of Killam attended Monday’s court hearing, though they did not speak. Jessica Killam, Stephen Killam’s sister, has previously described her brother as a loving, caring man who never hurt anyone, and said the family was struggling with the loss.

Mount Joseph at Waterville, located at 7 Highwood St., was formerly Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home.