CARIBOU – A New Sweden teen was returned Wednesday to a detention facility for 10 days as part of his sentence for manslaughter and reckless conduct, offenses that led to the death of one of his friends last July in a motor vehicle accident.

Nathan Anderson, 17, admitted to the charges Tuesday in 1st District Court at Caribou. Judge Ronald A. Daigle sentenced him Wednesday afternoon, nearly seven months to the day after the accident.

Anderson also received a suspended, indeterminate sentence to the Maine Youth Center in South Portland and was placed on probation until he reaches the age of 21. He also cannot operate any motorized vehicle for five years and will be under house arrest at his parents’ home for 20 days when he returns from the Northern Maine Juvenile Detention Facility in Charleston.

As part of his probation, Anderson must obtain substance abuse counseling, psychological counseling and undergo random searches and testing for alcohol and drugs. He also has to perform 200 hours of community service within the next 36 months, complete a defensive driving course, and write a letter of apology to Mark and Roseanne Parks, parents of Evan Richard Parks, the 17-year-old teen-ager killed in the car Anderson was driving.

Judge Daigle said during the sentencing hearing he was inclined to invoke an even harsher sentence in the case. He told Anderson that he would be sent to the Maine Youth Center for an indeterminate sentence if he broke the conditions of his probation.

The Parks’, who were in court during the two days of the juvenile hearing, agreed to the sentence Wednesday afternoon with a motion of their heads.

Without speaking further, they left the court with the rest of their children, family and friends.

“This has totally destroyed our family,” Roseanne Parks, the victim’s mother, told the court Tuesday. “[Evan Parks] doesn’t get to graduate from high school, he doesn’t get to go to the prom and we will never have grandchildren from him.”

The mother, who was wearing a neck brace from recent surgery, trembled and cried as she told the judge what her family had been through.

Through their attorney, Jefferson Ashby of Presque Isle, the Anderson family said they would not comment after the hearing.

During the court session, Ashby said Anderson attempted suicide last month. He was sent to the detention facility because he was out of control at school and home and had served 20 days before appearing in court.

The sentencing was conducted over three sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was continued Tuesday because Daigle wanted to read the letters from friends and family of Evans Parks as well as a psychological evaluation of Anderson that was done while he was at the Charleston facility.

On Wednesday morning, the sentencing was continued to the afternoon because the judge was inclined to make the sentence harsher than had been recommended by the prosecution and the defense. Daigle wanted the defense attorney to talk to Anderson about the possibility of more incarceration time.

After learning that Anderson couldn’t be sentenced for longer than 30 days at the Charleston facility, the judge instead added the house arrest.

Speaking very softly, Anderson admitted Tuesday to the charges of manslaughter and reckless conduct. He also replied “No” when the judge asked him if he had anything to say after the accident scene was described in court.

The parents of both youths wept openly Tuesday as Aroostook County District Attorney Neale Adams described the incident in which Evan Richard Parks lost his life “instantaneously during the early morning hours of July 15.”

Describing Anderson, the prosecutor told the story of an out-of-control teen-ager who was heavily into drugs and alcohol.

Adams said the two youths had been to the Maine Potato Blossom Festival at Fort Fairfield and at a friend’s party during the evening and early morning hours of the fatal accident.

Around 2 a.m., a New Sweden resident reported to police that he saw a car, operated by Nathan Anderson, speeding around the small northern Maine community. A woman also called police to tell them of someone knocking on her door, but that no one was there when she answered it, Adams said.

Maine State Police Trooper Steven Stubbs answered the police call and found Anderson walking around, all bloody, according to Adams. The youth denied that he had been in an accident and in a fight and told Stubbs he was just walking around.

He also told the police officer that Parks might have taken his car. Stubbs smelled alcohol on Anderson, but the teen refused a blood alcohol test.

It was Anderson’s father, Steven Anderson, who found his son’s car after daybreak that morning. Police found tire scuff marks in the road, and tire tracks were spotted on a grassy area in the light of day.

The car went off the road, struck a large tree and broke into two pieces. The rear end of the car was found against a building. The front of the car was found 90 feet further after it traveled through bushes and trees.

Parks was inside, on the front passenger seat. Adams said the youth died instantly in the crash.

The prosecutor told the judge that a police accident re-creation found the car was traveling more than 91 miles per hour when it went off the road, crashing into the tree and breaking apart. The area where the accident happened was a 40-mph speed zone.

Police also found the remains of a 12-pack of beer in the trunk of the vehicle.

After Parks was found, Anderson had to take a blood alcohol test. The results were negative, probably because several hours had gone by since the accident, Adams said. The test did show the presence of marijuana in Anderson’s blood.

“Going at that speed in the middle of night on this road was reckless and criminally negligent,” Adams told the judge.

About 25 people, including a dozen teen-agers, were in court Tuesday afternoon, with a smaller number of observers on Wednesday.

The Parks and Anderson families and their supporters were in court Tuesday and Wednesday. Steve and Cindy Anderson, the parents of Nathan Anderson, sat directly behind their son in court during the sessions held over the two days.

Nathan Anderson appeared calm, staring at the front of the court through most of the proceedings. He broke into tears twice, when he addressed the court and the Parks family.

The 17-year-old, who is a senior at Caribou High School, broke down and cried when he told the court he was sorry for what

happened. Bouncing from one leg to the other and with both his hands in his back pockets as he spoke, Anderson cried openly, his words nearly incomprehensible at times.

“I loved him to death, he was my best friend,” Anderson said of Evan Parks. “I take full responsibility for what happened. To teens, being drunk and crazy has got to stop, and I hope no one else has to go through this.

“I don’t have any friends anymore,” he said Tuesday.

On Wednesday, with tears streaming down his face, he told the Parks family, “I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to express myself. I feel nothing but pain and shame for what I did. I am truly sorry.”

Three months before the accident, Anderson was stopped by a Caribou police officer while speeding through town.

In a video of the speeding incident, Anderson could be heard pleading for a break from the police officer. On the tape, Anderson said his license had been revoked twice before and that he had received a summons the week before.