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Franklin County residents indicted by federal grand jury on drug charges

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BANGOR – Two Franklin County residents were indicted by federal grand juries on different, drug-related charges last week, following investigations by multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

According to statements released by acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy, both men were indicted last week. Steven Butler, 24 of Rangeley, was indicted on the federal charge of distributing fentanyl, while, in a separate indictment, Jordan Richard, 24 of New Vineyard and formerly of the Rangeley area, was indicted on the federal charge of distributing cocaine.

Fentanyl, an opioid pain medication often compared to morphine but significantly more potent, has been singled out by law enforcement as being responsible for a significant number of overdose deaths over the past 20 years.

In both cases, the charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, three years of probation and a $1 million fine.

Grand jury indictments represent a finding by the jury that there is probable cause, or a “reasonable belief” that the crime occurred, after considering evidence the U.S. attorney has presented.  The grand jury needs not be unanimous and does not need to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt like a regular trial jury.

According to the Department of Justice, the investigations that led to both indictments were conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Maine State Police; and the Rangeley Police Department.

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11 Comments

  1. This is encouraging. Perhaps being charged under fedetal laws these men, if found guilty, will receive appropriate sentencing. I’ve tried to follow the drug related cases heard in Franklin County since the state implemented the new Opiate Law in January 2017. My wife has intractable migraines (the type that last 72 +hours) since a traumatic head injury as a child. She took at best 6 pain pills a month and only if she couldn’t get the migraine under control after 24 hours. Yet she’s being told that she can no longer have a prescription because of the new drug law. A prescription of 30 pills would last her six months. I’ve been to Augusta and learned that my wife should not be impacted by the new drug law yet her providers look her in the face and say the state has “tied their hands”. I’ve watched her go from an active energetic person to someone who stumbles around the house after being awake for over 48 hours due to severe migraine pain. Then I read about drug cases including trafficking, heard in Franklin County Superior Court and the offender is given a suspended sentence and probation for bringing this toxic waste into our communities. I’m left wondering how forcing a woman to suffer with something she has no control over, a woman who has a well documented medical history and zero substance abuse, is helping curb the opiate problem in Maine when those that traffic in illegal drugs get suspended sentences and walk freely out of a courtroom.

  2. BOB…her doctor is full of air. I went thru this same scenario …I have a disability that causes a lot of pain. I am prescribed a 30 day script of 180 pills..it lasts me a lot longer than 30 days…sometimes 3-4 months. My doctor worked with my insurance company and the insurance pays for it…when my dr writes the script out he has to put 30 days and medically needed for chronic pain…so maybe she needs a new doctor…just saying!

  3. To Bob,
    You make an excellent point. I feel too many of the laws that are enacted these days are not based on common sense, nor are many of the legal decisions of our court system.

  4. @Bob, I’m so sorry for your wife’s pain and not being able to get what she needs to help her. Unfortunately though getting the opioid dealers off the streets won’t help your wife. The reason they put a limit on how much and for how long you could get the pain meds was because so many young people were getting addicted mostly because of sports injuries. Then when the doctors took their opioids away they turned to heroin because of how cheap it was and the high was similar. That’s why we have such a heroin problem in this State and nationwide. I personally, in this area, know 4 young men that are now in their 20’s that got injuries due to sports in High School that they got put on opioids that turned to heroin when they cut their meds. Opioids are a bad thing but so necessary for the one’s, like your wife, that need it but don’t abuse it. Sorry for her pain. Have they tried botox? I hear they are having remarkable success with migraines being treated with botox. I too suffer greatly with pain issues but could never really take pain meds since they make me sick. I’ve turned to edible weed. It helps me a lot.

  5. @Mick, NO, the reason for the new opiate regulation laws, both state and federal, is a byproduct of laziness and greed! Laziness from the doctors who throw opiates at painful conditions instead of any rehabilitating prescription for the injury (what did we do before mass opiate prescription?), and big pharma not giving a f<"( about the state of this nation or its people, just the almighty dollar. And as far as the botox, I'm sure that Bobs wife did not develop migraines overnight, and has probably tried nearly everything available to find some relief, and has found what works for her body composition. Why should she (and other deserving individuals) suffer for the scroat bags and thieves lurking in the shadows of the state and the nation? I for one, am SICK AND TIRED of hearing the excuses and justifications for/of this crap! When the states start taking a stand, and it turns into a unified national movement, then, and only then, will we see the societal shift required to induce a change! Signing off now, as i feel as I'm starting to ramble and sick of typing. Only when the majority awakens will we see a shift in the societal norm!

  6. Dear Resident:

    your lucky to have a doctor that cares enough to help you with your pain. I have suffered 9 years with severe back pain and am on disability. I went from being prescribed 4 15s a day down to 0. I tried to argue with my primary and was sent to “pain management” all the way in portland. who also says because of the state of Maine they can not put me back on pain meds. So for the past 6 months I have suffered. seams like the only ones this law is actually hurting are people who are truly in pain with chronic long term conditions!

  7. The “war on drugs” is a failure. It’s time to focus on things that actually work – funding drug rehab programs and quality medical care. Opioids are cheaper than pretty much everything else in the medical world. It’s wrong that many people are forced to choose the opioid route simply because it’s cheaper. They have to work and opioids are a cheap way to mask the pain enough to do so. That often leads to a problem.

  8. Missy, I am fortunate to have the doctor I have in Portland. It’s ppl that sell theirs on the street or the ones that steal from us that may have the meds and the ones that are overdosing on them that ruin it for ppl that really need it. I can go days without having to use it..my doctor even helped me get cannabis but it made me feel yuck and I didn’t like it. Any doctor that has treated u for yrs knows we aren’t there just to get a fix. Like the saying goes, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the whole apple crop…or whatever…I hope u can get what u need….

  9. I suffer from horrific lower back pain that required opiates to relieve. Two weeks ago I hobbled into the relatively new pain clinic at Franklin Memorial Hospital run by Dr. Peter Marshall, M.D. and recieved an epidural steroid injection. I am now standing upright, walking without a cane,and my pain is again manageable with over-the-counter pain relievers. How long it might last, time will tell, but having another option than addictive and nauseating opiates is life changing for me, and for many may well be life-saving. We should all want diligent restraint in the prescribing of these very dangerous drugs. Alternatives like spinal epidurals and the aforementioned botox are great examples of therapies that don’t lead to addiction. People in rural areas shouldn’t have to choose between pain and dependency. We deserve the best options available just like our friends who live in cities.

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