AA Member Pleads Guilty in the Shooting Death of His Alcoholics Anonymous Sponsor

Charlotte NC AA member shot his AA sponsor to death for reasons undisclosed. His sponsor was well known in the 12 step arena, even leading gay meetings.

“Huffman met Middleton in an AA meeting and later asked him to be his sponsor, a mentoring relationship that’s at the heart of most 12-step recovery programs. They were already neighbors in Sedgefield, and they became friends.”

Charlotte man pleads guilty in shooting death of AA sponsor

By Michael Gordon
Posted: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013
 Earlier this year, Chris Huffman wrote of feeling like a prisoner.

Now he’ll live out his life being one.

Huffman, 42, pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree murder in the shooting death of Charles “Mike” Middleton, his one-time Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, neighbor and friend. Superior Court Judge Richard Boner sentenced Huffman to a mandatory sentence of life without parole. Volusia County Drug Court mandating AA meetings.

On the morning of Jan. 25, Middleton, a longtime volunteer in Charlotte’s 12-step community, was shot 11 times in front of his home in the Sedgefield community. Police found him on the sidewalk, still wearing his bedroom slippers. Continue reading