Danforth man sentenced to 8 years for OUI crash
9/10/09 | 28 comments
courts

Danforth man sentenced to 8 years for OUI crash


Accident paralyzed Caron’s former girlfriend
By Christopher Cousins
BDN Staff
Caron

BANGOR, Maine — A Danforth man convicted of driving drunk during a crash that paralyzed his former girlfriend and endangered the life of their unborn child will spend at least six years in prison, ruled Penobscot County Superior Court Justice William Anderson on Wednesday.

Anderson sentenced Jayson Caron, who is now 31, to eight years in prison with two years suspended followed by three years of probation. Caron also was ordered to pay $2,100 in fines and will be barred from driving for six years after he gets out of jail.

“There isn’t any evidence that this phase of [Caron’s] life is over,” said Anderson before announcing the sentence. “It’s hard for me to conclude that he has accepted any responsibility for his actions before today.”

Caron, who remained stoic during the hearing until he read a prepared statement, said he harbors substantial regret.

“I am very, very sorry for what has happened,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “The result of my decisions has ruined my life. I made bad decisions, but I am not a bad person.”

Bobbi Jo Norris, 19, of Mattawamkeag, Caron’s former girlfriend and the mother of their daughter, wept during portions of Wednesday’s hearing as she sat in the wheelchair that doctors say she will use for the rest of her life. She and her family declined questions from a reporter, but her mother, Robin Clark, had harsh words for Caron when she addressed the courtroom.

“Bobbi Jo will never walk again,” Clark said after turning to face Caron directly. “You tore our family apart. I think you should sit behind bars for years and years and years and think about the heartache you’ve caused. She’s going to suffer for the rest of her life, and not just a little. A lot.”

A jury found that Caron was drinking on Sept. 1, 2007, during the Springfield Fair, where he was expecting to participate in a truck pull. After being barred from the event for being drunk, he and Norris left the fair with Norris driving. A witness testified during the trial that she saw the two switch positions before leaving a con-venience store they stopped at on the way home.

“The defendant made the conscious decision to remove a sober driver from behind the wheel so he could drive,” Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Gregory Campbell said during Wednesday’s hearing.

In summarizing testimony from the trial, Campbell said that Caron lost control of the truck a few miles from the store on North Road in Carroll Plantation. The truck overturned and ejected both Caron and Norris. Norris has endured 15 operations since the accident. Despite her injuries, Norris, who was about 17 weeks pregnant, was able to later deliver a healthy baby girl who is now almost 2 years old.

Caron is now married to another woman, according to Campbell.

On June 18, a Penobscot Superior Court jury convicted Caron of aggravated assault, aggravated operating under the influence and operating under the influence. He has been in prison ever since.

Caron’s defense attorney, F. David Walker of Bangor, tried unsuccessfully to convince the jury that Norris was driving during the accident, which Campbell argued showed a lack of remorse. On Wednesday, Walker said Caron doesn’t remember who was driving, but that the strategy used in his defense should not be a factor in the sentencing process.

Walker said the strategy was his idea and that his client never accused Norris.

It would have been easy for him to point the finger to her, but he never did that,” Walker said. “He remembers leaving the fair but nothing after that.”

Prosecutor Campbell argued for a 10-year sentence based on several aggravating factors; Walker urged a sentence of half that. Justice Anderson sided substantially with the state in imposing the eight-year sentence, citing several aggravating factors. Among them were that Caron has three prior convictions for operating under the influence, that he took the keys from a sober driver, and that several people warned him he was too drunk to drive.

“His conduct was quite serious and I would say extremely reckless,” said Anderson.

Caron, who has been in prison since his conviction, requested a one-week delay in starting his sentence so he could winterize his home and visit an elderly grandmother.

Anderson rejected both requests.

Walker said after the hearing that a five-year sentence would have been more appropriate. Asked whether Caron will appeal his conviction, Walker said, “We’re going to be reviewing his options.”

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Comments
28 comments on this item
On 9/10/09 at 5:23 AM, daremom wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

TRAGIC,VERY TRAGIC, BUT DOESN'T THE "VICTIM" HERE TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY? WHY WOULD SHE GET INTO A VEHICLE WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS THAT INTOXICATED. JAYSON IS NOT THE MONSTER THAT PEOPLE ARE MAKING HIM OUT TO BE. HE HAS AN ILLNESS AND I HOPE HE GETS THE HELP HE NEEDS AND DESERVES DURING HIS INCARCERATION. REMEMBER JAYSON..THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU AND FORGIVE YOU.

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On 9/10/09 at 6:02 AM, benoddway wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

daremom your head must be in the sand.

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On 9/10/09 at 6:51 AM, Scintillate wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

He sounded all sorry in his statement to the court "I'm very,very sorry I ruined my life." What a selfish arrogant, self centered waste of a human life, he couldnt even pretend he felt bad for really and truely ruining his ex-girlfriends life, the mother of his child.

I hope his child never is forced by the government to know him. 6 years and a fine of $2100.00 what a joke.

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On 9/10/09 at 8:07 AM, theinfoman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

the punishment fits the action but for all of your statments about kids and sex how about all the others that do it both in Danforth and Houlton and you think those are ok. what a bunch of inbreds

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On 9/10/09 at 9:57 AM, pcme2000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If she knew that he had been drinking then she to is part to blame for what happened. She could have NOT gotten in the car with him. And yes he is to blame also he also should have not gotten behind the wheel and what the judge gave him should have been longer.

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On 9/10/09 at 10:22 AM, Erika2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

daremom ....what a joke. You might be able to forgive but are YOU the one that will be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life?

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On 9/10/09 at 10:46 AM, BeavisJSmithThe3rd wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Blame the victim?Whats wrong with you guys?She was probably scared s%#@less of this monster.To stop dating him or to refuse getting into the truck would most likely result in physical and or mental abuse.This guy was obviously a loose cannon.

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On 9/10/09 at 10:52 AM, BeavisJSmithThe3rd wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Daremom- Will you have a 12 pack of bud and a bottle of crown royal waiting for him when he gets out ?

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On 9/10/09 at 11:40 AM, emcm2008 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Jayson is not a BAD PERSON, yes he made some really bad choices but that doesnt make him a bad guy. Dont get me wrong, he should be punished for his actions. God knows she has. But lets look at her parents in this situtation. Her father and mother were standing right there watching her climb into this truck, if they were so drunk they may have stopped her (doubt it but maybe).

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On 9/10/09 at 12:46 PM, whatsitcomin2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

infoman...you are the JOKE!! By your intelligence I would almost guess that you are the inbred....why don't you march your non-so-intellegence right into the town of Danforth or Houlton and discuss face to face your thoughts on how the towns are all inbreds and see how you fair then...all mouth and nothing to back it...=) Hope your life is great and grand cause you always have an awful lot to say about everyone else..and they always say those that have lots to say have the *&^$est lives around thats why they come up with so much drama...GET A JOB and get off the state then maybe you won't have so much time to sit around and bash everyone else!! LOSER!

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On 9/10/09 at 12:52 PM, AliDanne wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Oh yes! Let's not have the supposed victim be held resposible. Give me a break. She HAD a choice. She is the one that gave him the keys in the first place when she KNEW he was drunk. She did not have to get in the truck with him. She was the one sober! She should of known better. I am sorry that she is in a wheelchair but sometimes you have to realize your decisions have consequences. Think twice before you hand the truck keys to a drunk person and don't get in the truck with them either. You all can say I have my head buried in the sand but I'm allowed to my opinion just like you are. They are both paying for what happened that night.

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On 9/10/09 at 1:00 PM, Stevey_Dee wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Is this guy really Freddie Mercury?????

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On 9/10/09 at 2:59 PM, BeavisJSmithThe3rd wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

He has that crazy nor'easter look to him.One eye goes to the north.The other to the east.

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On 9/10/09 at 3:00 PM, BeavisJSmithThe3rd wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Classic Freddie Blassie surely would have called him a pencil neck geek!

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On 9/10/09 at 3:03 PM, BeavisJSmithThe3rd wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 9/10/09 at 3:07 PM, theinfoman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

hey whatsitcomin2 your the joke and your one of them locals. We see all of your relatives everyday, ain't they the ones with a check each day and a plastic card from the state at the market and don't you all ook alike? hahahahahahahahahahahah

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On 9/10/09 at 4:28 PM, letterreader wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Daremom: I understand and appreciate your kindness. Don't let the neanderthals here dissuade you from your course of forgiveness. Some folks just don't get that hate and retribution kill the person practicing the hate and retribution. They are usually the sort that say hang him and throw away the key. A fat lot of good that does.

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On 9/10/09 at 5:03 PM, soxfan5730 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm glad to see the Maine court system took a harsh stance on this one. So often in Maine, drunk drivers get off real easy, like the drunk driver that killed my older brother and got off scott free in 1995.

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On 9/10/09 at 7:33 PM, MaineSurvivor2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I would like to say good bye to this loser. Unfortunately his victims will never be able to say that.

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On 9/10/09 at 8:11 PM, AMomsOpinion wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Let this be a lesson to all the teens and young adults out there who think drinking & driving is ok....IT IS NOT!!! Nor is it too bright to get in a vehicle with someone who is intoxicated...take control of your life choices...if not you may lose your life.

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On 9/11/09 at 12:09 AM, auntim wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

seems like i must have touched a nerve since they pulled my opinion. truth is he was a habitual drunk that could have killed many people. when he lost his ability to drive a car for dui then he runs down south and gets one to drive a 18 wheeler. now who would you rather see driving drunk down the road??? a car/pickup OR 18 wheeler??? duh. i hope he stays in for every minute of the 6 years.

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On 9/11/09 at 1:58 PM, whatsitcomin2 wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 9/11/09 at 3:23 PM, realist38 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This guys statement in court explains it very clearly. He said he ruined his life. What about hers? Raising a child in a wheelchair, sounds awful. You might have thought his lawyer would prepare him for his statement and not tell the court he's sorry he ruined his life. I bet she was scared not to get in the truck. After surviving one abusive marriage, I can see why maybe she didn't dare not get in the truck with him. I think his sentence is fair if he would have to serve the entire time sentenced, but we know that wouldn't happen. Look at the psycho in CA that abducted the girl in 1991, he was sentenced to fifty years in the 80's and yet was out again to kidnap in 1991. Great judicial system we have here, no wonder people aren't the least bit afraid to commit horrific crimes. The motto ought to be do the crime but not the time.

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On 9/11/09 at 3:34 PM, cricket wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Whether the guy is a "good" guy or not.. he has made some poor choices and there are consquences for choices that people make. My niece was killed by a drunk driver and when he gets out of prison his own child will be about the age My niece was when he killed her.. 14.. I hope he remembers that and I hope he has a long life with his child..something he took away from my brother and his daughter.. so Anyone sticking up for this guy I can understand but try seeing both sides of the story... Unless you have been there I really don't think your opinion matters.. Try visiting a grave

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On 9/11/09 at 8:40 PM, JillT1981 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I know this is kind of irrelevant, but this happened in 2007. That means he was 29 years old. She was 17 years old. I don't care if there was "consent" or not, she is technically a minor and he is 12 YEARS OLDER THAN HER.....gross!

Dude, you got a slap on the wrist. You royally messed up her life (in more ways than one) AND your daughter's......you are a coward, and deserved far more than what you got.

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On 9/11/09 at 9:07 PM, knowitall wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm glad the inmates at warren get to read the bdn. he will pay for his sins..... one way or another lol

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On 9/13/09 at 10:45 PM, auntim wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

hey knowitall,i agree with you 100%. i too hope that the creep gets what is coming to him and serves every single day of the time and has a really really nice roommate to bide his time with and think over his crimes. the bible says an eye for an eye. lets just pray this is true.

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On 9/15/09 at 7:15 PM, Stevey_Dee wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

DEW??????

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