PARIS — An Oxford County Superior Court judge denied a motion Tuesday to lower the bail of a Buckfield man charged with trafficking heroin.
Dana Ingerson, 30, was one of 15 people arrested in 2015 in what officials called the largest drug investigation in Oxford County history.
He was charged with Class A aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs and Class B conspiracy to commit aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs.
Class A crimes other than murder are punishable by up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $50,000, while Class B crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000.
Ingerson’s bail was set at $25,000. He is serving a prison sentence at Middlesex County House of Corrections in Billerica, Massachusetts.
However, Ingerson’s attorney, Christopher Berryment, pointed out to Judge Nancy Carlson that Ingerson had been incarcerated for 22 months, and stood the risk of spending more time in prison before trial than anything he would serve after a potential trial.
Berryment asked that Ingerson’s bail be lowered from $25,000 to $500 cash, “given the amount of time he’s spent incarcerated.”
Carlson said she would not lower bail to $500 cash.
“However, I would be willing to consider lowering the bail,” she added.
Berryment asked that Carlson “not anchor yourself to the $25,000.”
Berryment said $500 cash “is the lowest he can easily afford. If it’s anywhere near the $25,000, it might as well be $1 million, because he won’t be able to afford it.”
Assistant Attorney General David Fisher said Ingerson is facing heroin charges in Massachusetts, as well as in Maine.
“It makes no sense to let him go right now,” Fisher said, adding that he represents a flight risk because of the serious nature of the crimes.
Berryment said if Ingerson were released on bail, he would live with his father in Fairfield.
However, Carlson pointed out that Loretta Sanborn from the Maine Pretrial Program had screened Ingerson for a Maine pretrial contract in October and denied him when his father refused to take him in.
“If there’s something that has changed with Mr. Ingerson’s father from October to now, I’d need to hear from him about it before I could make a decision,” Carlson said.
She denied the motion to amend bail, but told Berryment he could renew the motion if Ingerson’s father is able to come to court on Dec. 21 and speak with the judge.
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