BANGOR, Maine — A Milo man a federal judge called “a virus within Piscatatquis County” was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to nine years and nine months in prison on drug and gun charges.
Daren Bowden, 43, who became addicted to oxycodone when he was treated for a back injury four years ago, also was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Bowden pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a person addicted to a controlled substance.
In imposing the prison term, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock said Bowden sold the highly addictive narcotic painkiller to “friends and friends of his friends” to feed his own habit after the defendant’s doctor refused to prescribe more painkillers.
“The defendant was in effect a virus within Piscataquis County,” the judge said in imposing the sentence. “His drug dealing caused pain and suffering. Even his own daughter became addicted. As angry as he is at the people who sold drugs to his daughter, he should realize that the people he sold oxycodone to are someone’s children.”
By pleading guilty, Bowden admitted that between Jan. 1, 2009, and March 1, 2010, he conspired with others, who are not named in court documents, to possess and distribute oxycodone. Bowden bought more than 3,000 oxycodone pills from an “illicit source and distributed the pills throughout Piscataquis County,” according to the prosecution version of events to which he pleaded guilty.
Bowden’s source “fronted” the pills to the defendant, who sold the pills, collected the money and made payments to his source, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case. Bowden became addicted to oxycodone after he suffered a work-related back injury in 2008.
He faced up to 20 years in federal prison on the drug charge and up to 10 years in prison on the gun charge. He also faced fines of up to $1 million and $250,000, respectively.
Defense attorney Ronald Bourget of Augusta urged the judge to show leniency and sentence his client to six years and eight months in prison. Bourget unsuccessfully argued that Bowden received far fewer than 3,000 pills because he was working and living in Vermont from September to December 2009 and did not have regular access to his supplier.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Casey, who prosecuted the case, recommended Bowden be put behind bars for 12½ years.
Bowden is scheduled to appear Monday on state charges in Piscatiquis County Superior Court, according to District Attorney R. Christopher Almy. Bowden is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and be sentenced to prison time to be served concurrently with his federal prison term.
He was indicted on the charge with Michael Weston and Michael E. Witham Sr., 54 of Milo last year by the Piscataquis County grand jury.
Almy said Tuesday that the three men are accused of conspiring to set fire in November 2009 to Witham’s camp in Milo to the collect insurance money. The charges against Weston and Witham are pending.
Yet that guy a few weeks back who raped a teenager got a couple months and a slap on the wrist fine?? Pathetic use of our court systems.
welcome to maine, take a number!
I see you complaining about Maine a lot. If you don’t Maine you can giiiit out.
they take our jobs!
Haha! I wouldn’t have commented, as we both get it, but I felt obligated to say your user name is fantastic. Actually spent some time at his grave, not long ago. Cheers.
DERKER DEEHR
State vs. Federal courts Dexter. I mean hell I went to Dexter high too but I still know the difference…
dexter girls are skanks guilford girls are ugly and milo girls…well they’re actually men…eck
foxcroft academy 4 life holmes
reppin dfc?
oh you know it like a G6 holmes LOL
i rep monson more though
Well if you went to the Foxcroft academy, why then do you not know the difference between federal and state courts and their sentencing guidelines. holmes…
And big pharma walks away clean,,, the real drug pushers in this country :-/
Don’t forget the doctors, they are just as responsible for this as big pharma is. They prescribe the max dose per state law for a damn sprained ankle so they can get those kick backs.
Riiiight…pushing drugs on these otherwise outstanding, help an old lady across the street citizens.
I love the first sentence of this article- the reporter makes it sound like it is the fault of the pills that he conspired with others to distribute oxycodone. He was peddling pills to our kids and the Bangor Daily News and their inept reporters and editors lead sentence excuses his actions, in essence, because he got hooked. This guy was a burglar, thief, abuser and a pill head who had no regard for anyone but himself. His addiction should have no bearing on his criminal actions. Until we realize there is a personal responsibility for our actions, we as a society are doomed.
While these things may be true, people should also be considerate of his 4 girls who now have to deal with their Dad away for such a long time..
Perhaps he should have considered his 4 girls !
Perhaps he should have, but his girls can’t control what he did. Be respectful of his family.
His 4 girls are a thousand times better off with him away for “such a long time” (not long enough)!
you are wrong! We are not better off without him. We need him. He was the best father in the world and some of you people disgust me by how much you are judging this man that you don’t know! What is wrong with you people!? I believe 9 years was way to much. I don’t even have a word to describe how cruel you are. You’re rude. We are a thousand times better off with him HOME.
excuse yourself, dad wasn’t “peddling pills to your kids”. Get your facts straight. They weren’t “excusing” him. You don’t even know him. Shows how much respect you have for others, doesn’t it? And you said he had no regard for anyone but himself? I apologize if I’m being rude, but you DO NOT know my father! He had a big heart and would give his last dollar to anyone who needed it. He worked all the time and yes, did drugs because he had a broken back and 4 kids to support and a wife and a house. I’m not making excuses for him, I’m stating the facts because I, as his daughter, know better then you what has happened here. Should my father have to apologize to you for doing drugs so he could continue to work without being in pain instead of sitting home living off the state like most people in this god forsaken down do? No. You don’t know what you are talking about.
“possession of a firearm by a person addicted to a controlled substance”
Probably one of the dumbest things I have ever read. How do they determine if a person is addicted or not? That’s a sneaky law, for sure. Its ok to be a raging drunk and own guns, but if you smoke joints you better watch out. Pure idiocy.
That is a Federal Law- not a State of Maine Law. This was a Federal Case, not tried by the State of Maine. The US Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case, not the District Attorney. If the feds prosecuted this case, I would tend to think there is more involved and more to come regarding these so called “sources” that Bowden worked with.
It hardly matters to me whether its a state or federal law, its absurd. So should all the people on prescription meds not be allowed guns? Clearly someone who takes painkillers for pain is addicted, right? Are these people not allowed to own firearms? They are using a controlled substance, after all.
I can see how this came to be. Its logical to want to prevent crimes. I suppose trying to prevent users from having weapons could fall into that category. But, in the end, a knife or a rock or a bat is just as effective. Really, its a law that accomplishes nothing except putting more people in prison. We already have enough people in enough prisons.
Time for a re-think.
Why would you want someone with an altered mental status carrying a firearm? The Statute states it is unlawful to possess a firearm by someone one “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance”. Seems like a good law to me. It has no bearing on those who take prescription meds for other health conditions. I agree that a knife or a rock is just as lethal, but they are not regulated by the government like guns are.
“Why would you want someone with an altered mental status carrying a firearm?”
Nobody would want that, but a legally prescibed patient is no less mentally altered then one who does them illegally. But people of importance pop legal pills, and hunt with their rich buddies, and plot to eradicate weed. It should be either a short stubb, or a double edge…
Ahhh yes, unlawful. That makes sense. Its ok for someone who has a prescription to have guns. Its ok if their drugs are for “established medical need” and if someone who is “educated” says its ok. I wonder how that is any different then someone who uses drugs for recreational purposes. In the end, both groups of people are using the drugs for the same reason: relief or escape from sufferings. I dont believe that simply because a doctor says its ok makes it anymore so. Its a shame. All of it. I dont understand why its ok for “sick” people to have drugs but not ok for people who are not sick. It makes no sense at all. Its an attempt to moralize the drug issue. Its just not possible. Legalize and tax just about everything. Crime goes way down. Income goes way up. Its a win win for everyone. Except Big Pharma and thats why it’ll never happen, which, is unfortunate for our country and its people. Go Go Gadget Capitalism!
Sorry for my naivete, but day after day there are stories involving thousands of pills. Multiply that by the # of areas across the U.S. & how are so many Rx’s getting out there?
Has to be stuff coming in from Mexico. Just has to be.
When the police arrest someone with drugs, the drugs go into evidence. After the person who had the drugs is sentenced, law enforcement agents give the drugs to informants, who put the drugs back on the streets in an attempt to help police arrest more people. Often CI’s are allowed to do drugs without punishment and get paid for their cooperation, not to mention they typically get out of whatever serious trouble they are in. Its a strange relationship between the two. CI’s need the police and the police need CI’s, but neither group likes or respects the other at all. Its a relationship born of necessity. But, anyway, yeah, they just recycle the stuff. Fuel for the drug war.
I know who didn’t win father of the year award.
I’ll repeat this as many times as it takes to get it through you peoples minds. He was the best father on this planet. DO NOT judge people you don’t know. It is rude.
The problems people talk about are not limited to Maine. This is just where addiction to Oxy is the worst, according to articles that talk about how Maine is number one in addiction to that drug. There is enough blame to go around, including Big Pharma, doctors that prescribe pain meds before there is any pain,doctors who overprescribe pain meds, patients who take more than they are supposed to and become addicted, patients who use less than prescribed and sell off the rest. It takes the collusion of each of these forces to create the situation we find ourselves in now. The question is whether we are going to continue to deal with the legal aspects alone or whether we are going to address the root causes of addiction and provide treatment.
You can provide all you want. It doesn’t amount to anything if people don’t want to get clean.
The situation as a whole is unfortunate. Addiction is a disease. Left untreated can be fatal. Disease not only affects the person but those around them. We all make mistakes, we are all human. He is not a “bad” person. He is a human being who made mistakes that will forever affect him, his family and those he dealt to. The ONLY person he has to answer to is himself. He will forever have to live with the guilt caused by his addiction. He is being held accountable for his mistakes. Sitting back and judging him does NOTHING but show others that you just don’t understand. I hope the one thing his girls will always remember.. He has always loved you, he just couldn’t love himself enough to get the help he needed to be your father. Learn from his mistakes, don’t follow his footsteps……….. <3
My father is an incredible man. He did not deserve this much time at all and I think it is truly unfair for some of you people to be judging him when you don’t even know him from a hole in the ground. He was my best friend and the best father that a daughter could ever ask for. Yes, he made some mistakes but that does not AT ALL make him a mistake. I love him more then words can explain and it makes me very upset to have to think that I’m not going to be able to see my father again til I’m 26 years old, being that I am only 15 now. My sisters, my family, and I love him very much and just want him to come home. We all know that drugs are bad, that is obvious but Milo is just a run down town anyways and the fact that they are calling him a virus is absurd. Even without dad here, this town is still nothing but drug addicts and low lives. He did drugs so he could work for his family and support me and my 3 sisters even though he was hurt very badly with a broken back. Every single one of you are ignorant to this whole topic and I don’t think it is fair that a selected few of you can talk rubbish about him.
I love you, dad and we are all going to miss you dearly. I’ll stay strong if you will.
Sweet girl… Don’t let these people get to you… They don’t know you.. they don’t know your father and they don’t understand… They never will unless walking in your shoes. BDN is a haven for people who like to hide behind their “username” to judge other people. Hang in there! Your dad is very lucky to have you!