Teen may face ‘shock incarceration’ for selling drugs near Brewer school

BANGOR – A Brewer teen whose arrest last winter shook the local community because he was selling a very potent dose of the painkiller OxyContin near an elementary school was handed an 18-month sentence Thursday during a federal court hearing.

Adam Barnes, 18, may avoid going to a federal prison, however, because he will be recommended for immediate acceptance to a “shock incarceration” program at Lewisburg, Pa. The program is for men under age 35 facing their first serious incarceration. It involves at least six months of rigorous, military-type training. If the program is successfully completed, it gives participants the chance to go to a halfway house for a few months and, after that, a chance to complete the remaining sentence with home detention.

A tall youth with closely cropped brown hair, Barnes asked to be sent to the program. Sitting in jail for the past few months has given him a chance to think about his life, Barnes said.

“I know I need some discipline. Sending me to a federal prison wouldn’t help,” Barnes said at the afternoon hearing at U.S. District Court on Harlow Street.

U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal levied the sentence. He spoke to Barnes of the need for the youth to take responsibility for his actions. Barnes earlier pleaded guilty and was sentenced on three counts – two counts of heroin distribution and one count of distributing oxycodone, with the brand name of OxyContin. The OxyContin count included the fact that he sold the drug near the State Street Elementary School in Brewer. He technically received 18 months on each count but the sentences will be served concurrently, or together.

Bangor attorney Jeff Silverstein represented Barnes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Wing prosecuted the case for the government.

The judge noted that Barnes has been illegally involved in drug trafficking since age 15 and has served time at the Maine Youth Center.

He noted Barnes’ age and said the month of May for an 18-year-old is a time “when you should be going to the senior prom, not federal prison.”

Singal said he had observed Barnes during several court hearings since his December 2000 arrest. “I believe you think your life is beyond control,” Singal told the youth. The judge said he hoped he wasn’t being “unduly optimistic” about Barnes’ chance for rehabilitation.

“I hope I never see you in this courtroom again,” the judge said.

Silverstein said Barnes was a good candidate for shock incarceration. The program includes a rigorous schedule of 16-hour days for six days a week, demanding physical training, military drills and inspections. Participants take part in extensive rehabilitation and educational programs, and, it is hoped, emerge to make radical changes in their lives.

After completion of his sentence, Barnes was ordered to complete a total of six years of supervised release.