The Very Rev. Stephen Foote, 70, of Bremen, will have a chance to enter a plea when he returns to court Jan. 31. Because the charge is a felony, a formal plea will not be entered until the case is heard by the Grand Jury that is expected to convene in mid-January.
At a Nov. 29 appearance in Lincoln County Superior Court, Justice Jeffrey Hjelm amended Foote’s bail conditions, acting on motions from Foote’s attorney, William Avantaggio.
Foote, Joshua Theriault-Patten, 25, of Bremen, and Adam Shawley, 27, of Newport, were all arrested Nov. 1, following a joint investigation by Two Bridges Regional Jail, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. Foote was arrested Nov. 1 and charged with trafficking in prison contraband, a Class C felony.
Foote’s original conditions prohibited his use or possession of illegal drugs and alcohol, made him subject to random searches and prohibited him from contact with Theriault-Patten.
Avantaggio asked his client be allowed to use alcohol and that searches would only be conducted if he was suspected of criminal activity that could be clearly articulated.
Hjelm granted Avantaggio’s motions, including a request that certain records be released to the defendant that day. Those include non-confidential documents in Theriault-Patten’s court file and records of the dates, amounts and sources of deposits made between March 1 and Oct. 15 into the commissary accounts of several TBRJ inmates.
Foote is alleged to have brought ten Suboxone strips into the jail, where the drugs would have an approximate value of $500. At the time the arrest was announced, LCSO Lt. Michael Murphy did not provide details about how the drugs passed through jail security.
At the time of his arrest, Foote served as rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Augusta. In a Nov. 14 statement, the office of the Right Rev. Stephen T. Lane, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, said Foote “recently served as transition priest-in-charge at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Augusta, but has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.”
