Machias man gets 15 months on gun charge

BANGOR – A Machias man charged with possession and sale of stolen firearms was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to 15 months in prison, but U.S. District Judge George Singal said the sentence could have been much stiffer.

Singal said Joseph Hanscom, 25, “appeared to be in the process of turning his life around” since an incident in September 2003 when Hanscom and a woman stole $30,000 worth of OxyContin from a Machias pharmacy.

Hanscom and Jennifer Jacques, 23, formerly of Machias were arrested last September in Jacques’ Ithaca, N.Y., apartment and charged with stealing 800 OxyContin tablets from the Machias Apothecary, which Jacques’ father owned. Police also found four guns in the apartment.

Hanscom has not been indicted in state court on the drug charges but will begin his sentence on Oct. 6 for a single gun charge. Three other counts were dropped Friday. Hanscom could have faced up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on the federal charges.

The 15-month sentence was part of a plea agreement between Hanscom’s attorney, Jeffrey Silverstein of Bangor, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Malone.

Addressing the judge, Silverstein described the incident as a “dark period in [Hanscom’s] life” when he made “poor decisions as a result of drug addiction.”

“He has made great strides and needs to get this chapter behind him,” Silverstein said.

The defense attorney told Singal that two factors contributed to Hanscom’s wanting to turn his life around: the continued support of his parents, who sat behind their son during Friday’s sentencing; and the recent, sudden death of Hanscom’s brother.

“I hope that’s something that you remember later on,” the judge told Hanscom, referring to his brother’s death.

Hanscom also was instructed to undergo a 500-hour drug treatment program while incarcerated and will be on supervised release for three years after his release from prison. He is also ordered to pay $935.48 in restitution for the stolen firearms.

Hanscom is not to have any contact with Jennifer Jacques, who is in federal custody for violating her bail conditions.