Sentencing postponed for man with multiple OUI convictions

BANGOR – A Lewiston man whose nephew was killed by a drunken driver nine years ago left the Penobscot County Courthouse on Wednesday frustrated with the legal system.

“Our family is just devastated,” Nicholas Knowlton, 53, said after Daniel Asselin’s sentencing was continued. “This continuation is just another stalling tactic. … Our hurt is still being revictimized. If he were a man, he’d admit his guilt and serve his time.”

Asselin, 38, of Bangor pleaded guilty Wednesday before Superior Court Justice Kirk Studstrup in Penobscot County Superior Court to operating after revocation and operating while under the influence of intoxicants.

Asselin was pulled over in May 2004 after he allegedly squealed his tires on Hammond Street and drifted over the centerline. Police said Asselin smelled of alcohol and failed field sobriety tests.

A breath test administered later showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.29 percent, nearly four times the legal limit.

In 1996, Asselin was driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent when he struck and fatally injured Knowlton’s nephew, Mark Blanchette, 18, of Lewiston, on Webster Street in Lewiston. Blanchette died of his injuries the next day.

Asselin later was charged with manslaughter in that case, but he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated drunken driving and served four years in prison.

He had been forbidden to drive for more than nine years before the 1996 accident because of numerous previous convictions, including driving while intoxicated, driving without a license, speeding, and failure to appear in court.

The judge allowed Knowlton to speak Wednesday even though victim-impact statements usually are presented at sentencings.

“He has had the opportunity to correct his behavior,” Knowlton said. “Obviously, he hasn’t learned anything.”

Studstrup said he continued the case so that a presentence report can be prepared and Asselin can receive medical treatment for a slipped disc. A new sentencing date has not been set.

A plea agreement between the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office and defense attorney Stephen Smith of Bangor recommends that Asselin be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison.

He faces a maximum sentence of six years, one year on the drunken driving charge and five years for operating after revocation.

Defense attorney Smith told the court that since his arrest, Asselin has complied with bail conditions, which include not drinking, and altered his behavior dramatically. The attorney also pointed out that Asselin now has a child.

The defendant’s wife and infant son were in the courtroom.

Asselin’s case in Penobscot County has taken several twists and turns.

He pleaded guilty to the charges in April, but later withdrew his pleas when a judge rejected the state’s sentencing recommendation, which called for Asselin to be sentenced to five years in prison with all but two suspended. Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm rejected that agreement, saying it was too lenient.

The case was delayed again last month when Superior Court Justice Andrew Mead allowed the defendant’s previous attorney to withdraw from the case.

The new plea agreement reflects Hjelm’s opinion that Asselin should serve four years because of his record, Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Larson said Wednesday after Asselin changed his plea.