Croatian indicted on Ecstasy charges

BANGOR – A Croatian merchant sailor was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Bangor on a charge of importing the stimulant drug Ecstasy into the United States last month.

Oliver Kragic, 46, was a crew member aboard the motor vessel Julia, a cargo carrier en route from the Netherlands to Port Everglades, Fla., with a stop at Searsport. During an inspection of the carrier on Dec. 21, U.S. Customs officers found 10 plastic bags, each containing approximately 10,000 Ecstasy tablets, located in Kragic’s quarters behind the head board of his bed.

If convicted, he faces the possibility of 20 years in prison. Kragic is being held at the Penobscot County Jail pending further court action.

Also indicted was Christopher Gavan, 50, of Houston, Texas, who was arrested following an air-rage incident that diverted a plane to Bangor on Oct. 20, 2001. The British vice president of a Texas corporation, Gavan is charged with four counts: interference with the flight crew and three counts of simple assault following an altercation in which he allegedly slapped a male flight attendant with both hands on a Continental Airlines flight from Paris to Houston. According to a court affidavit, the airline captain diverted the flight and landed at the Bangor International Airport at about 2 p.m. that day after Gavan’s behavior became unruly.

If convicted, Gavan faces the possibility of more than 20 years in prison and more than $250,000 in fines. He is released on bond pending further court action.

Robert Lewis, 30, address unknown, was indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, attempted robbery and possession of a firearm used in a crime of violence following an incident on Oct. 11, 2001. Lewis, who has multiple prior convictions, allegedly attempted to rob the Norridgewock Pawn Shop and Trading Post at gunpoint on that date and subjected employees there to “actual and threatened force, violence and fear of injury,” the indictment states.

Lewis was arrested a day after the incident in Skowhegan by Somerset County police detectives, who said he was en route to another business where they suspected he would commit robbery. Because of his record, Lewis may be classified as an armed career criminal, which translates into a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison on the weapons possession charge if he is convicted. He also faces the possibility of 20 years in prison on the robbery charge and five years in prison for possession of a firearm used in a crime of violence, if convicted.

Robin Wade, 42, of Woodland was indicted on four counts dealing with conspiracy and importing the painkiller Dilaudid into the United States. The offenses allegedly occurred in November and December of last year. If convicted, she faces the possibility of more than 20 years in prison, $1 million in fines or both. She is in jail pending further court action.

Also indicted was Joseph Roussel Adelard Despres, 42, of New Brunswick, Canada, on a charge of re-entering the United States after having been deported. If convicted, he faces the possibility of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. He is jailed.