Two sentenced in meth bust

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Two of the five individuals arrested in connection with operating a methamphetamine lab in Houlton last year were sentenced Thursday in Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou.
    According to Todd R. Collins, district attorney for Aroostook County, Nancy Hardy-Boles and Kenneth Williams each pled guilty to trafficking in methamphetamines.
    Hardy-Boles, 32, of Houlton pled guilty to aggravated trafficking and two counts of possession of drugs. She was sentenced to 10 years in jail, with all but five years suspended; two years of probation and a $400 fine for the trafficking case. She was also given a concurrent five-year sentence and $400 fine for possession of hydrocodone and a 364-day concurrent sentence for possession of suboxone.
    According to the website, www.drugs.com, hydrocodone is a narcotic pain reliever, while suboxone is used to treat opiate addiction.
    Williams, 42, originally from Lakeland, Fla., received an eight-year sentence, with four years suspended and three years of probation, with a $1,000 fine. The state had been seeking a 10-year prison term for Williams.
    The sentencing follows a series of arrests in November 2010 by members of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency over a three-week period. Others charged in connection with the drug bust in 2010 were Melissa Tidd, 28 of Houlton; Kenneth Moore, 33, of Houlton and Brian Flewelling, 22, of Houlton.
    According to Collins, “Mr. Flewelling pled guilty to unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, methamphetamine, and was sentenced to a deferred disposition in which he will be supervised for the next year with drug and alcohol prohibitions, random search and testing. If he remains drug and alcohol free and refrains from criminal activity then he will have the opportunity to be sentenced on a misdemeanor offense at the end of his one-year deferment.
    “If he cannot abide by the terms and conditions of the court order, then he will face the full sentencing authority of the court on a Class C felony, or five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000,” Collins said. “He also pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of scheduled drugs, Class D, for an $800 fine, and a violating conditions of release charge, a Class E offense, for 24 hours in the Aroostook County Jail.”
    The arrests followed a lengthy investigation into an alleged meth lab in Houlton. MDEA agents and a forensic chemist assigned to MDEA’s laboratory enforcement team converged on Houlton in Nov. 18, 2010 donning chemical and fire resistant clothing and air tanks. About a dozen team members first went to a wooded area at the end of First Street in Houlton. First Street is part of a trailer park located near the Houlton International Airport.
    “Evidence found is consistent with what we would expect to find where someone is making methamphetamine,” said Darrell Crandall, MDEA division commander.
    The large contingency of personnel and equipment, including two large MDEA crime scene units, a decontamination trailer, fire trucks and an ambulance then moved to a house trailer a short distance away on First Street.