A 21-year-old Woolwich woman, one of four defendants in a Wiscasset drug-trafficking case involving the potent and dangerous narcotic fentanyl, recently reached a plea deal.
Amy M. Varney pleaded guilty to class C unlawfully furnishing schedule W drugs (fentanyl), Class D misuse of public benefits instrument, and class D unlawful possession of scheduled drug at the Lincoln County Courthouse Aug. 10.
The state dismissed the most serious charge, class B unlawful trafficking in schedule W drugs (fentanyl).
A court order known as a deferred disposition will delay sentence for two years on the furnishing charge, the sole felony among the remaining charges. Varney will remain free on personal recognizance bail in the meantime.
Varney’s bail conditions and the court order prohibit contact with co-defendant Fermin A. Sawtell and require her to engage in substance abuse counseling, maintain or actively seek employment, maintain or commence an education program, and submit to random searches and tests for illegal drugs.
Such orders often include an agreement regarding the sentence for a “good” outcome in which the defendant abides by all the terms of the order and a “bad” outcome in which the defendant violates the order, although the order in Varney’s case does not outline such an agreement.
Varney also received a fully suspended 364-day sentence, as well as a year of probation and $500 in fines, for the possession charge. Her probation conditions are similar to her bail conditions. If she violates probation, she could serve part or all of the 364-day sentence.
She received an unconditional discharge for the misuse of public benefits instrument charge. The sentence means she has been convicted of the crime, but will not serve jail time or be subject to other penalties.
Varney has been under close supervision since her arrest nearly a year ago.
According to a report by Varney’s case manager with Maine Pretrial Services Inc., she completed an intensive outpatient program for substance abuse, obtained a job at a fast-food restaurant and a second job cleaning houses, passed 12 drug tests, and reported to her case manager by phone or in person as required.
Varney was arrested Sept. 25, 2014, when Maine Drug Enforcement Agency personnel executed a search warrant at the Schooner Inn in Wiscasset at about 4 a.m.
Sawtell and Varney were packaging fentanyl for resale in their room, Special Agent Chad Carleton said in an affidavit. The agents recovered 4 to 5 grams of fentanyl, two digital scales, two hypodermic needles, and packaging material.
Varney told agents she and Sawtell had recently picked up the drugs in Rochester, N.H. and returned to sell them in the Bath and Wiscasset area, Carleton said. Varney said she and Sawtell had made similar trips about twice a week for a few months.
Law enforcement and public health officials consider fentanyl extremely dangerous. Fentanyl-related deaths in Maine nearly quintupled from nine in 2013 to 43 in 2014, according to the Maine Attorney General’s Office. There were 26 deaths primarily attributable to fentanyl in the first half of 2015.
“Fentanyl is the most potent opioid available – 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin,” according to the Maine Attorney General’s Office. “Police and prosecutors report that the fentanyl spike is largely due to non-pharmaceutical fentanyl being sold on the streets as a white powder and represented to be heroin.”
Sawtell and Varney were doing exactly that – representing fentanyl as heroin – and did not appear to know it was fentanyl.
Maine Assistant Attorney General Jamie Guerrette is the prosecutor for the state in the Wiscasset fentanyl-trafficking case as well as cases involving the importation and sale of heroin in Lincoln County.
The defendants in the Wiscasset case were originally arrested and indicted on heroin charges.
“The lab test came back and it wasn’t heroin, it was fentanyl,” Guerrette said in March. “I think everybody believed we were dealing with heroin, from its appearance and everything else.”
Sawtell, 40, formerly of Bath, Dresden, and Wiscasset, is serving a 5½ – year sentence at the Maine State Prison in Warren after pleading guilty to class A aggravated trafficking in schedule W drugs (fentanyl) and class D misuse of public benefits instrument at the Lincoln County Courthouse May 18. Sawtell has prior convictions for felony drug and sex crimes.
The other co-defendants are Tabitha Brooks, 29, of Rochester, N.H., and Chad L. Hedman, 38, of Augusta.
Brooks faces charges of class B unlawful trafficking in schedule W drugs (fentanyl) and class C illegal importation of scheduled drugs. She denied the charges during a phone interview with The Lincoln County News in March. She will return to court Sept. 14.
Hedman pleaded guilty to class C illegal importation of scheduled drugs and class D unlawful possession of schedule W drug June 22, according to court documents.
Hedman received a one-year deferred disposition. His bail conditions and the court order prohibit the possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs, require him to continue substance-abuse counseling and pursue a bachelor’s degree, and subject him to searches and tests.
If Hedman abides by these conditions for a year, he can withdraw his plea to the felony importation charge, which the state would then dismiss. He would then receive a fully suspended 364-day sentence with one year of probation for the possession charge.
If he violates any condition, he could face up to the maximum penalty for the importation and possession charges.
He is due to return to the Lincoln County Courthouse for a dispositional hearing at 1 p.m., June 27, 2016.
Court documents do not detail Brooks or Hedman’s involvement in the case, although Guerrette has confirmed their roles as co-defendants in the matter.
The misuse of public benefits instrument charges relate to the possession of electronic benefit transfer cards without state authorization.
Welfare recipients use EBT cards to access their benefits, including cash. Drug users frequently exchange the cards for drugs, according to law enforcement officials and welfare administrators.
