FARMINGTON — Court officials expect the suspect in the May fatal shooting of a 2011 University of Maine at Farmington graduate will plead guilty and be sentenced in a Rule 11 hearing set for Friday in Franklin County Superior Court.

Ryan Ouimet, 24, of Colts Neck, N.J., will appear during the hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

“It’s not done till it’s done,” cautioned Deputy Attorney General William Stokes on Monday, but the court anticipates a change of plea and sentencing at that time.

Rule 11 is designed to deal with a guilty plea, he said, about an agreement that means forgoing a trial.

Ouimet was charged with manslaughter in the death of his friend and classmate, Andrew Holland, 23, of Cape Elizabeth on May 31. Both had just graduated from UMF earlier in May.

Ouimet reportedly tossed a loaded handgun from hand to hand while dancing to music on the radio in the High Street apartment of Caroline Halloran of Acton, Mass.

The gun went off and the shot hit Holland in the abdomen. He died that evening at Franklin Memorial Hospital.

A charge of aggravated assault escalated to manslaughter, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

The charge was expected to come before a Franklin County grand jury for indictment in September unless a plea agreement was reached. The grand jury is in session on Thursday of this week.

Following a Sept. 2 court status conference, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson said there were conditions that needed to be worked out before a decision was made on whether the case would go to trial or a plea agreement would be reached.

An attempt to reach defense attorney Michael Cunniff was unsuccessful Monday.

Ouimet bailed from Franklin County Detention Center on $10,000 cash bail on conditions that he could not use alcohol, drugs, firearms and he could not leave the state.

During a June court appearance, Cunniff requested a new bail condition that would allow Ouimet to travel to New Jersey to receive the support of his family.

At first reluctant to approve the new bail order, Justice Michaela Murphy agreed to sign the order if an agreement with Maine Pre-Trial Services case manager Richard Simcock could be reached to provide monitoring of bail conditions while out of state.

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