AUBURN — A couple who had been making methamphetamine in their Lewiston home pleaded guilty Thursday to related drug charges.
Mark Theriault, 46, and Ethel Hallock, 52, of 212 Pond Road, pleaded guilty in Androscoggin County Superior Court to unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, a Class B felony.
That charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but the two agreed with a prosecutor to admit to the charges in exchange for sentences of two years in prison with all of that time except for 30 days suspended. Both defendants will be placed on probation for two years after release from jail. They will be barred from having or using illegal drugs and must submit to random searches and testing for illegal drugs. They also must complete evaluation, counseling and treatment for substance abuse as directed by their respective probation officers.
The couple was ordered to pay the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency $3,104 in restitution for costs associated with the investigation of reports of a meth lab in their home.
A drug agent from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency on Monday noticed the couple had made significant purchases of pseudoephedrine, Assistant Attorney General David Fisher said in court on Thursday during a plea hearing.
Two MDEA agents went to the couple’s Pond Road home on the night of Oct. 27, according to court papers. They talked to Hallock, who said she used methamphetamine and bought pseudoephedrine to give to Theriault so that he could make meth at their home, where it had been made before.
Police secured a search warrant for the home.
Another agent later interviewed Theriault in Bath, where he worked. He admitted to drug agents that he made meth using a so-called “one-pot” method at his home. He said he routinely burned all of the leftover material in his yard afterward.
Hallock was arrested at the home. Theriault was arrested when he arrived at his home from work in Bath.
Agents who executed the search warrant evacuated the building and secured the area. The MDEA’s specialized Clandestine Laboratory Response Team went to the home and processed the scene dressed in suits specially designed for handling hazardous materials. During their search, they discovered two containers used to cook meth. As much as one gram of the drug was found in the home, Fisher said Thursday.
Theriault posted $5,000 cash bail; Hallock, $500.
Judge Rick Lawrence allowed Theriault to postpone his 30-day stay in Androscoggin County Jail until January for work-related reasons. Lawrence also allowed Hallock to put off the start of her 30-day sentence until February for health reasons.
cwilliams@sunjournal.com
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