The Portland man who killed a beloved Maine burrito maker has been found not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.
Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman on Tuesday ordered 29-year-old Jonathan Alas be placed in the custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Alas could be held at Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta until he can prove his condition has improved, the Press Herald reported.
Alas pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of 58-year-old Christopher Godin back in April 2023. He later changed that plea to not guilty by reason of insanity in May 2024.
Godin was found dead in a hallway of the Cumberland Avenue apartment building where he and Alas lived about 7 p.m. Feb. 17, 2023. Alas also was found with a self-inflicted stab wound to the chest and taken to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated before being transferred to the Cumberland County Jail.
Alas had been recently released from prison with a prescription for antipsychotic medication when he moved into the Cumberland Avenue apartment building. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and wasn’t taking his medication as prescribed, the Press Herald reported.
Before the stabbing, Alas was experiencing auditory hallucinations and delusions, and a forensic psychologist testified that Alas may have believed he was acting in self-defense against his delusions, according to the newspaper.
Godin was fondly remembered by friends and foodies in Portland, where he started Granny’s Burritos in the 1990s and ran out of several locations before eventually landing at the Portland Public House until he closed for good in 2017. He briefly ran a Granny’s Burritos location out of the Sunday River ski area in Newry.
