Machias woman to serve 18 months for OxyContin burglary

PORTLAND – A Machias woman has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for stealing OxyContin from the now-closed Machias Apothecary, formerly owned by her father.

Jennifer Jacques, 23, also was sentenced on Jan. 11 in U.S. District Court in Portland to 18 months in prison for receiving stolen firearms, to be served concurrently with the burglary to a pharmacy charge, and to three years of probation after her release.

U.S. District Judge George Singal ordered her to pay a mandatory $200 assessment fee and nearly $6,000 in restitution. Both had been paid in full as of Jan. 21, according to court documents.

Jacques faced a maximum of 10 years in prison on the gun charge and up to 20 years in prison on the theft charge.

Pending burglary charges in Washington County Superior Court were expected to be dropped after she was sentenced in federal court.

Jacques and boyfriend Joseph L. Hanscom, 25, of Machias were charged in state court with burglary of the Machias Apothecary on Sept. 1, 2003, after they were arrested at her apartment in Ithaca, N.Y.

They removed $30,000 worth of OxyContin from the pharmacy that was owned by Jacques’ father, Richard Jacques of New London, Conn.

Hanscom was sentenced in September to 15 months in federal prison on gun possession charges. He also was sentenced that same month in Washington County Superior Court to 15 months in state prison for burglary, to be served concurrently with the federal charges.

Jacques was seriously injured in a car accident on Nov. 16, 2003, about a month before she and Hanscom originally were indicted. Driver Mark Preston, 27, of Pembroke was killed in the accident that occurred on Route 86 in Marion Township. The accident was attributed to excessive speed.

Since her indictment in federal court in December 2003, Jacques’ federal bail was revoked twice.

After her arraignment on the federal charges in May, Jacques was released on bail and lived under virtual house arrest with her mother in Machias. In June, she agreed to return to jail rather than face a possible bail violation charge for allegedly being out of her residence and associating with known drug users.

Jacques was released into her father’s custody in September so that she could undergo surgery for problems related to injuries suffered in the car accident. Conditions of her release included electronic monitoring. Her bail was revoked on Dec. 8 after she violated the conditions.

Her case was moved from federal court in Bangor to Portland in September.