A West Virginia man was found guilty Wednesday in U.S. District in Bangor on the felony charge of possessing about 1,400 dosages, or “hits,” of LSD with the intent to distribute the drug.

Lawrence E. Woolston, 41, faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

A jury of 10 men and two women deliberated almost two hours before returning the verdict in the one-day trial, over which U.S. District Judge Gene Carter presided. The defendant didn’t take the witness stand on his own behalf.

Woolston and co-defendant Kevin M. Jancovic, 24, formerly of Philadelphia, were arrested in May 1989 after they and two companions tried to enter Canada, but were refused entrance. The travelers were supposedly going to a camp in Nova Scotia owned by Woolston’s parents.

A U.S. Customs official discovered a plastic bag containing LSD blotter papers tucked in the waistband of Jancovic’s pants. The Philadelphia man was convicted last month of the misdemeanor charge of possessing LSD and testified during Woolston’s trial.

Maintaining that the amount of LSD indicated Woolston’s intent to distribute, Jonathan Chapman, assistant U.S. attorney, presented evidence showing that Woolston owned the LSD, which he took with him on a previous trip to Canada and discarded in a snow bank along Interstate 95 near Sherman.

Jancovic testified that Woolston stopped during the May 1989 trip and found the package, which the witness said he hid in his pants when they tried to cross the border at Houlton.

Other prosecution witnesses described the search at the port-of-entry, and a forensic chemist testified that the substance found was LSD.

Defense attorney Torrey Sylvester of Houlton suggested, however, that Jancovic had brought the drug with him. Appearing as a defense witness, a Maine State Police officer testified that Jancovic and another passenger, interviewed shortly after the search, said the drug had been in the car since Jancovic was picked up in Philadelphia.

During his summation, Sylvester told the jury, “If you believe in the tooth fairy, then you believe the I-95 story. I guess that’s too incredible for me.” He suggested that Jancovic, who hasn’t yet been sentenced, was “cutting a deal with the government.”

Chapman warned the jury, however, to watch out for “red herrings” and “straw horses.” He said that Woolston’s intent to distribute the drug could be inferred from the circumstances in the case.