PORTLAND — An Auburn man who said his arrest for dealing fentanyl and crack cocaine saved his life was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in federal prison.
Zachary “Pee Wee” Paradis, 41, was in U.S. District Court where Judge Nancy Torresen imposed 51-month sentences each on charges of distribution of fentanyl and distribution of cocaine base. Both sentences are to be served at the same time.
He pleaded guilty to the two felonies in December.
Prosecutors argued for a sentence of between 77 and 96 months; the defense, 37 months.
Because his sentence is more than 41 months, Paradis may appeal it, the judge told him.
Paradis will be supervised for three years after his release from prison. During that time, he must seek and undergo mental health treatment and take all prescribed medications. He must engage in drug and alcohol abuse therapy and is barred from having any alcohol or illegal drugs and can be tested for use of those substances.
Paradis may not have any firearms or other dangerous weapons, or knowingly be in the company of anyone known by him to possess a firearm or other dangerous weapon.
Dressed in a tan jail suit, Paradis told the judge Wednesday that the drug agents “really kind of saved my life arresting me.” He said he had been “going down a dark path.”
Paradis said he has two daughters, one in Massachusetts and one in Florida, with whom he would like to develop a relationship once he is released from prison.
“I’ve never been ready to change … like I have now,” he said.
He expressed concerns about going back to prison where he said he would be a target of the Aryan Brotherhood because, although he is white, he had aligned himself there with Hispanic and Asian inmates.
Paradis said his life has revolved around survival, given what the judge called his “very difficult” childhood, punctuated with “a lot of trauma,” including having witnessed the shooting of his friend when he was 8 years old.
“We didn’t get you off to a good start,” Judge Torresen said.
Paradis has been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder, mental health issues for which he has never been treated, he said, adding, “I’m mentally unstable at times.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah Falk called Paradis a “hardened criminal,” in his sentencing memorandum.
Paradis has had at least 10 criminal convictions as an adult, preceded by a “substantial” juvenile record starting at age 10, Falk wrote.
“The defendant has been involved in multiple violent assaults, he has frequently failed to abide by his conditions of release and he has prior convictions for drug trafficking,” Falk wrote.
“He supports himself through dealing drugs, at least for the past five years,” Falk said.
Wednesday’s sentencing was Paradis’ third time in federal court.
Most recently, he was in prison for about a year in 2018 for having violated his conditions of release on a 2016 drug trafficking conviction, Falk said.
“Let’s make it the last time you ever come to this court,” Judge Torresen said after wishing Paradis, “Good luck.”
On March 2, 2022, Paradis sold a “finger,” or 11.4 grams, of fentanyl to a confidential source for the Drug Enforcement Administration during a recorded controlled buy in exchange for $400.
On April 14, 2022, Paradis sold the source 12.8 grams of crack cocaine during a recorded controlled purchase.
The DEA’s Northeast Laboratory later tested the products from both narcotics purchases from Paradis and confirmed they contained fentanyl and crack cocaine, respectively, according to Falk.
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