FARMINGTON — A Chesterville man was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended, for his part in a methamphetamine manufacturing operation, according to Franklin County Superior Court documents.
Jason Fowler, 40, will be on probation for three years after his release from prison.
He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Maine State Police busted up the drug operation on Rangeley Road in Phillips on July 15, 2014.
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency officers and Franklin County Detective Kenneth Charles began investigating Fowler on July 9 after receiving information from a confidential informant, according to a police affidavit filed in court.
Charles stopped Fowler’s Jeep and found items in it that were consistent with making methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant. Kimberly Webber, 25, of Vienna, a passenger in the vehicle, had control of some of the drug in the car, according to a drug agent’s affidavit filed with the court.
Webber admitted to investigators to using methamphetamine but contended she hadn’t seen it being made. Webber also told investigators that she and Fowler had been staying at a residence on Rangeley Road in Phillips with Michael Halle, another co-defendant in the case.
According to Webber, it is believed that Halle was teaching several individuals, including Fowler, how to make methamphetamine, the court document states.
Halle, 46, pleaded guilty to unlawful trafficking in drugs in December. He was sentenced in January to two and a half years in prison for his involvement in the methamphetamine manufacturing operation.
A judge sentenced a Phillips man Friday to eight years in prison with all but two and a half years suspended. Upon his release, he will be on probation for three years.
Another co-defendant, Erin Smith, 43, also of Rangeley Road in Phillips, entered into a two-year deferred sentencing agreement. She pleaded guilty Dec. 5 to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit trafficking in scheduled drugs. She had served six months in jail prior to pleading guilty. If Smith follows through on the agreement, she will be able to withdraw her guilty plea to the felony and plead to a misdemeanor furnishing charge and receive a $400 fine.
Webber, who faces a drug trafficking charge, has not had her case resolved.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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