Man called ‘victim of own crime’

MACHIAS – Saying the defendant “is a victim of his own crime,” a judge Thursday imposed a $1,000 fine on the young man who provided liquor to a Columbia teenager on the night she died last August.

Judge John Romei of the Machias District Court was reluctant to jail Justin Skeate, a 21-year-old Army veteran with whose family Krystal Higgins was living last summer at the time of her disappearance and death.

With his attorney, Rich McNamara, at his side, Skeate changed his plea to the Class D charge of furnishing liquor to a minor to no contest. He had entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment on the charge last month.

Both the prosecutor and the judge emphasized that, while Skeate made the mistake of buying alcohol for an underage friend, there is no suggestion that his deed contributed to her death.

Paul Cavanaugh, the first assistant district attorney, noted that Higgins’ body had a 0.08 percent alcohol content.

“I think the alcohol was a contributing factor, but there is no connection of this young man’s actions to her death,” Cavanaugh said.

“We just don’t know what happened after she gave him money and asked him to buy her a fifth of Bacardi rum.”

The Higgins tragedy gripped Washington County last summer for the week that she was missing after a night out with friends. Hundreds of law enforcement and rescue professionals walked miles of woods and roads alongside volunteers, all searching for the popular 17-year-old.

Her car was found in the West Branch of the Pleasant River near the boat landing in Addison on Aug. 12. Two days later, her body was recovered from the water.

The courtroom was silent Thursday as the prosecutor, Skeate’s attorney and the judge took turns addressing the complex and sensitive case.

The Higgins family was absent but was represented in a letter written by the girl’s grandparents Robert and Dolores Higgins of Cherryfield. Tom Higgins, the girl’s father, was unable to leave his work Thursday morning, the district attorney told the court.

Higgins’ situation as an emancipated minor living with the Skeate family was mentioned by all who spoke. The Skeates had taken her in a year ago this month at a difficult time. She lived with them like a sister, a Boston Red Sox fan who often teased Justin, a New York Yankees fan.

Justin Skeate, McNamara said, is a disabled U.S. Army veteran with an honorable discharge. He works full time, has attended more than 90 meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and had no prior record, McNamara added.

“I cannot adequately portray how deeply both Justin and his family feel about Krystal’s loss,” the attorney said. “He cannot go back and undo what’s been done. He will never close his eyes without seeing Krystal’s face.

“But his crime was complete at the moment he furnished the alcohol.”

Neither the state nor the defense attorney had a recommendation for a proper sentence for Skeate. Cavanaugh noted that statutes call for a mandatory minimum fine of $500 for conviction of the crime.

“Bad things happen when teenagers drink,” Cavanaugh said. “We expect adults to prevent that, not assist them. … This is not an unusual fact pattern, when kids ask adult friends to buy liquor, except for the fact that she died that night.

“Justin is not responsible for Krystal’s death, but he is responsible for furnishing her alcohol.”

A dozen family members and friends supported Skeate as they listened to the 40-minute proceedings. They hugged and cried when it was over.

The judge wanted his sentencing decision to be a message for Washington County’s young people.

“It points out what happens when young people drink, and drink and drive,” Romei said. “This is an extraordinarily painful example.

“The court has to fashion a result that does not diminish the gravity of what happened … There will be those who say that $1,000 is not an appropriate resolve for the loss of someone’s life. But I am not going to sentence this young man as if he caused the death of Krystal.

“He didn’t cause her death; he lost her, too, and he was victimized by her death. He has taken full responsibility, and he unhesitatingly told the police that he had gone for the liquor. He didn’t strike a deal with the district attorney, and he has done everything right since he made the mistake of providing liquor to his de facto sister. And that was liquor that she asked for,” the judge said.

“That will be the judgment of this court.”