Judge refuses to reduce Caribou man’s sentence

BANGOR – A federal judge on Thursday refused to further reduce the prison sentence of a Caribou man serving 114 months for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

U.S. District Judge George Singal did cut from six to three the number of years Jeffrey Allan Doucette, 36, must serve on supervised release or probation once he is released from federal prison.

Doucette won an appeal of his sentence in February before the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. That court remanded the case to Singal for the reduction in supervised release time and Doucette filed a motion seeking to reduce the number of months he must spend in federal prison.

He was sentenced as a career offender and given an enhanced sentence in December 2000. His original sentence of 151 months was reduced by 37 months in February 2002 after he entered a guilty plea.

According to court documents, Doucette made regular trips to New York to secure cocaine and then supplied a few other cocaine dealers in northern Maine with the drug. Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agents placed him under investigation, then arrested him in April 2000 as he dropped off about a quarter-ounce of cocaine to another area dealer.

Doucette told the court Thursday that since his incarceration he has undergone drug treatment, taken a college-level accounting class, taken parenting classes so he can better care for his 4-year-old child once he’s released, has a prison job making ammunition pouches for the Army and regularly participates in Prison Fellowship Ministries.

The not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization was founded in 1976 by Charles W. Colson, former special counsel to President Nixon, after Colson served time in prison for a Watergate-related offense. Doucette’s baptismal certificate, presented into evidence Thursday, was signed by Colson.

Doucette’s mother-in-law, Jean Thibodeau, testified on his behalf. His wife, father-in-law and five other family members attended the hearing to support his motion.

Singal commended Doucette’s progress but said that his particular circumstances did not meet the “exceptional” standard required by federal sentencing guidelines before the judge could reduce his sentence again.

In other matters before Singal:

. Tracy Lynn Nelson Harrison, 34, was sentenced Thursday to the five days she had already served and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to two counts of making false statements to a customs inspector. A nurse and citizen of Canada, Harrison said she was a permanent resident in Maryland when she attempted to cross the border into Washington County last September. She also will be barred from re-entering the United States for at least a year, said Singal.

. Wayland Garland, 27, of Norridgewock was sentenced Thursday to two years’ probation after pleading guilty to making a false statement in a firearms application form after being convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

. James Barriault, 31, of Veazie was sentenced Wednesday to a total of 34 months in prison and three years supervised release after pleading guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a stolen firearm. He was arrested in March 2002 at his home. A state charge of unlawfully furnishing scheduled drugs was dismissed in June.