HOULTON – A New Limerick man who was one of three people busted by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency last December pleaded guilty earlier this week to a charge of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs.

Daniel R. Bouchard, 27, entered the plea in Aroostook County Superior Court before Justice E. Allen Hunter. He was sentenced to six months in jail with all of that time suspended except for the six days he has already served. He will remain on probation for one year with numerous conditions attached.

Bouchard could have been jailed for a maximum of 10 years and been slapped with a $20,000 fine for the Class B offense.

Flanked by his attorney, Stephen Nelson, Bouchard stood silently as Aroostook County Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Lilley outlined the evidence against him during the brief court proceedings.

According to Lilley, Bouchard was caught on tape trading an OxyContin pill for cash.

The individual who purchased the prescription narcotic was an MDEA operative, and the transaction led to Bouchard’s arrest by MDEA agents, Houlton police and Aroostook County sheriff’s deputies.

Nelson told the judge that his client, who had no prior criminal history, had taken immediate action to better himself and his situation after he was arrested last Dec. 29.

“He immediately went into counseling, has gotten a job, and Mr. Bouchard has been clean and sober ever since this incident,” the attorney said. “He has been on the straight and narrow ever since.”

Hunter credited Bouchard for his efforts and admitted that “six days in jail is probably the shortest sentence I’ve ever required anyone to serve” for such a charge.

“I can’t tell you the number of people I have seen who have wasted their lives because of OxyContin,” he told Bouchard, urging him to continue re-establishing himself as a productive member of society.