March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Milbridge woman in cocaine ring gets nine months

BANGOR — One member of a Washington County trio convicted of trafficking in cocaine, which had a street value of $170,000, was sentenced to nine months in prison Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Maud S. Hayward, 40, of Milbridge also was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of her prison term. U.S. District Judge Morton Brody ordered Hayward to report by 2 p.m. Feb. 17 at an institution to be selected by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Extraordinary hardship in Hayward’s life combined with her cooperation with the government between the time of her arrest and Thursday’s sentencing persuaded the federal judge to grant Hayward a marked reduction in the average sentence that usually would be levied for her crime.

In October 1997, Hayward pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and aiding and abetting the commission of that crime. One of her partners, Erwin Door, 46, of Milbridge also pleaded guilty in October 1997 to the same offense. He will be sentenced on Jan. 22. A third member of the trio, David Look, 46, of Columbia Falls, pleaded guilty in September 1997 to two cocaine-trafficking counts and will be sentenced Jan. 23.

The three are accused of receiving at least seven packages of cocaine from California sent to Maine through the United Parcel Service although only one package — filled with 438 grams of cocaine — was used to convict them. The package arrived at the Brewer UPS office on June 28, 1997.

In Hayward’s case, the sentencing range recommended by a U.S. commission for her crime is 37 to 46 months, the judge noted. However, Brody granted two separate requests for a departure from the guideline range.

The government, represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Wing, recommended the judge give Hayward a lower-than-usual sentence based on her extensive cooperation and significant information provided on other drug-related cases. Hayward’s court-appointed attorney, Wayne Foote, also requested a sentence reduction based on Hayward’s poor physical condition and the fragile mental health of her 12-year-old daughter, who has been repeatedly institutionalized for psychiatric problems.

Involved in a violent auto accident in 1993, Hayward still suffers from the effects of a fractured spine and several broken bones sustained in that accident. A therapist also answered questions posed by the judge about the treatment that Hayward’s daughter continues to need for mental-health problems. The child has been repeatedly institutionalized at Acadia Hospital, according to information given out at the hearing.

Hayward’s crime, which involved receiving large amounts of cocaine through the mail and dealing the drug, is significant, Brody said. The total amount of drugs involved is 1.7 kilograms.

Despite Hayward’s personal hardships, a message of deterrence has to be sent to other people considering similar criminal activity, according to Brody.

According to court records, Hayward, Dorr and Look were targeted by local, county and state police after Long Beach, Calif., detectives contacted the Milbridge Police Department about a package of cocaine they seized June 25, 1997, from the United Parcel Service center in Long Beach.

The California police arranged to ship the cocaine to Maine, where local officials were waiting. According to a court affidavit, Hayward and Dorr initially accepted the package for Look at the UPS office in Brewer on June 28, 1997.


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