BANGOR, Maine — A Brewer woman was sentenced Tuesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center to three years in prison with all but nine months suspended in connection with a fatal hit-and-run on Bangor’s Main Street in June.
Patricia Giles, 52, pleaded guilty just before sentencing to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a Class C felony, and falsifying physical evidence, a misdemeanor, according Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County.
She began serving her sentence at the Penobscot County Jail immediately, he said late Tuesday afternoon.
In addition to jail time, Superior Court Justice William Anderson sentenced Giles to two years of probation. Conditions of probation include not driving for six months and substance abuse counseling, Roberts said.
The plea agreement between Roberts and Giles’ attorney, Zachary Brandmeir of Bangor, called for her to be sentenced to three years in prison with all but nine months suspended on the felony charge and a concurrent sentence of 90 days on the misdemeanor charge, according to Roberts.
“This was a just outcome because we had evidence that she caused the accident but no evidence that by staying at the scene the outcome of the accident would have changed,” Roberts said Tuesday afternoon.
Giles was indicted June 27 by the Penobscot County grand jury.
She had been free on $10,000 unsecured bail since pleading not guilty to the charge in September.
Giles faced up to five years in prison on the felony charge.
By pleading guilty, she admitted that she struck Joshua R. Constantine, 37, of Bangor, a longtime employee of a downtown business, as he crossed Main Street near the entrance to Shaw’s supermarket around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, June 2.
Constantine, an employee of Herbal Tea & Tobacco, was killed instantly.
Giles’ silver 2000 Pontiac Bonneville didn’t stop and didn’t brake, Roberts said in September.
Giles surrendered to police on June 13 as part of an agreement with the district attorney’s office, according to a previously published report.
Roberts said in June that Giles was not indicted for manslaughter because there was no proof she was criminally negligent when she struck Constantine.
Maine law defines manslaughter as “recklessly, or with criminal negligence, caus[ing] the death of another human being.”
Giles was headed home from being in the Main Street area of Bangor during a waterfront concert but did not purchase a ticket for the show, the prosecutor said.
A few weeks after the accident, the Bangor Public Works Department installed a crosswalk and a pedestrian signal at Patten Street, the entrance to Shaw’s.
nine months for killing a man with a car and trying to hide it,thats the tragedy here
No, nine months for leaving. She was not charged, and could not be charged, for the pedestrian’s death.
It’s pathetic when someone can hit and kill another person and only get in trouble for fleeing the accident. As far as I’m concerned that’s murder!
Did you miss the part where the pedestrian walked in front of the car at night?
Well the not driving for six months is a certainty because she will be in jail.. I believe the only reason she recieved any time is because of the out cry.. I don’t believe she should of gotten any time for hitting a jaywalker on a dimmly lit street. It was a accident. I was on that street within 45 mintues of the accident and it was hard to see.
it was a hit and run and tring to hide evidence of it thats why she got what she did
Well she should have stopped .
And that’s what the charge was for. Leaving the scene and trying to cover up the evidence of it.
Only a heartless or intoxicated person wouldn’t stop. You choose.
People who CHOOSE to drive while intoxicated don’t have much of a heart to begin with…
Then there must be a lot of heartless people out there, like your neighbors, friends, colleagues, teachers, and the list goes on and on. Many people have “chosen” to drive drunk that are otherwise responsible, respectable people. It’s not wise, but a very common mistake that millions of people make. Stupid comment.
Driving drunk is a cognitive decision…not a mistake. People don’t fall down the stairs and end up driving drunk. And yes, there are a lot of drunk drivers out there. That point I will agree with.
Then she should have stayed and explained her self. She was a criminal the instant she fled. “Life” is not the correct sentence to serve for jaywalking. Anyone saying she shouldn’t get jail time is yet another irresponsible hillbilly who thinks they are entitled to everything and they should do what they want without getting in trouble. This probably means you.
Unfortunately, when you walk into traffic and are killed as a result, you can’t press “rewind.”
Why don’t you ever talk about the criminal act that she committed. If she had stayed and had done nothing wrong then, you are right it most likely have turned to what Josh had done wrong. She did not stay so she was convicted of leaving the scene of a accident where a death occurred and tampering with evidence. She had most of her sentence taken away. She did get off easy.
No, but the person who does the killing has the option to press “stop” and actually be a responsible person.
I’ve never said the driver shouldn’t be held responsible for not stopping.
If it was an accident then why didn’t she stop? So basically if your driving and someone decides to jaywalk and you hit and kill them it’s ok? That is not the way I was taught to drive.
Even better…you can drive home and try to cover it up! Maybe she has friends in high places (Bangor and Brewer local government)
You are kidding right? Just because he was jaywalking doesn’t mean he was fair game. She did not brake and did not stop. Why wouldn’t she serve time, she broke the law by leaving the scene of an accident where a death occurred and tampering with evidence. What does Josh’s jaywalking have to do with those charges?
Another Mike Roberts plea bargain where the victim of the crime is dead and the person responsible gets a slap on the wrist. It is time for Mike Roberts to find a new job. He is cutting plea deals that make defense attorneys and their criminal clients jump for joy when they find out he is going to be the prosecutor on the case. The citizens of Penobscot County deserve prosecutors who will work to put criminals in jails and not take the easy way out.
The pedestrian wasn’t the victim of a crime, as the crime was only in the woman’s fleeing the scene and not reporting the crash. The guy walked into traffic, outside of a crosswalk!
Go ahead Ryan, keep yapping about how this woman wasnt negligent and she wasnt charged for being negligent. Most of us here believe she wasnt charged correctly. There was no crosswalk there to use, and jaywalking is something that is rarely ever charged, so to lay the blame on the pedestrian, in this case the person whom lost his life, Mr. Constantine, yes Ryan he has a name, is not only morally ignorant but also ludicrous in most of our opinions. We all realize that you are a lawyer wannabe, or maybe even in law school, but your big words and lawyer speak doesnt change a thing about how we all feel. This woman should have been charged the night it happened, she should have been drug tested and she got off with killing someone….its that simple in my opinion.
And it’s a good thing most of those up in arms aren’t in charge to enforce laws.
There was a crosswalk about 800 feet away. The pedestrian chose not to use it and chose to walk into traffic at night. That is being negligent.
The problem here is you want the law to follow emotions. That is not how law is practiced or supposed to be practiced. What you want is mob rule. That is not what the American justice system is based on.
The fact remains that there was no evidence the woman was criminally negligent, but that the pedestrian walked in front of her vehicle, outside of a crosswalk, and at night. The evidence shows that was the major, if not only, cause of the pedestrian’s death.
And no, the pedestrian’s name is not relevant. Nor is the driver’s. Justice doesn’t care who you are or how many people loved you or hated you.
Hmmmm…. No proof she was criminally negligent when she struck Constantine, no criminal negligence, causing the death of another human being, yet part of her probation conditions are to stay away from”substance”.
I don’t car who she is or what her job is. She ran over a man and fled. She’s was trying to protect herself from something. Absolutely heartless.
9 months is a joke.
Unreal.
Seriously. Can the victims family do anything about this? Get another court to look at it? Suing her personally is an option….although given the vehicle age/type and her actions I’m going to assume she doesn’t have any money to take.
All the family can do is file a lawsuit. A successful monetary ‘judgement’ is good forever, so if she does get back on her feet the victim’s family should be able to collect payments.
I assume it cannot be passed to another court because of the Fifth Amendment ‘Double Jeopardy’ ruling (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/double+jeopardy).
It’s sad, isn’t it?
I think a wrongful death lawsuit would not be productive. Although the burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence, compared to beyond a reasonable doubt, the fact is the pedestrian bore more responsibility by jaywalking.
A civil suit would not be to determine whether the driver hit the victim, but whether she was negligent in doing so and that her negligence was greater than the victim’s negligence. Any monetary damages the victim’s estate would get would be minimal and mots likely be eaten up almost entirely by legal fees.
Anything better than nothing…She will have time to think!
Oh…it was just an accident deah…(even if you did go home and try to cover it up) you go home and be a good girl. Slap.
I’m sorry but this is not right!! A life was taken because of her negligence and she fled the scene. If she had stopped and addressed it this woud have been very different but she tried to get away with it and she only gets nine months that is sad!!!
This is a travesty. I hope that if I ever get run over, my life is worth more than 9 months in prison for the perpetrator.
If this truly was “an accident,” and there was no negligence or substances involved, you don’t run. You stop to help, call 9-1-1, etc. IF she didn’t know she hit somebody, then she most certainly was on something. Another disgusting ruling by the courts.
There certainly was a crime committed.
Giving her 9 months in jail for killing a man, that is.
Thats the crime.
And she had an accomplice in this crime.
Her attorney , Zachary Brandmeir.
Shameful. Very shameful.
Deplorable.
Disgusting.
Disturbing.
What a joke…Let’s see, she has been free on bail, was probably drinking and didn’t want to get charged with a dui. Obviously this woman either had good connections or a good lawyer. I hope to god the family of this man takes everything she has. As for those who negotiated this plea deal, I wonder if they would have considered this a just sentence if it were their family member she killed & kept going. I hope they never have to experience the pain the victims families feel.Shame on all of them. I would love to know what she did for employment. If this woman were a minority she most definitely would not have been given such a sweetheart deal. Absolutely tragic.
There is no reason to have laws on the books that the authorities fail to enforce. They just make prisoners of those that value their perceived “freedom”. Sad.
If these terms were discussed with, and agreed to by, the Constantine family then justice has occurred. If that is not the case, that sentence, while including conditions to attend substance abuse counseling, is a crime in and of itself.
I understand often the day of sentencing is another reminder to families of the event – sympathies to the Constantine family.
Nine months for taking a life and not even stopping to help. The woman is a waste, as are the judge and attorneys whom are all too eager to reach a plea deal so that they can all appear as winners.
Judges must think that they are beyond the possibility of people such as this alcoholic (or drug-filled) scum sharing the same roads as their families – assuming they even give a damn about their own families.
A better punishment would have been hard labor on a road crew for the remainder of her pitiful and useless life, with no talking allowed between inmates. May you rot in jail as we are forced to pay for your incarceration. 52 years old and acting like a stupid teenager. I hope you didn’t pass along your defective genes to offspring. I imagine that you did, and that there’s no dad at home, so you have another mess in the making.
A drunk driver got away with killing a man…to all those who drink and drive if u run someone over and hurt them don’t stop! U can beat the charge…id of atleast sent a message and gave her the max sentence!
She fled… no proof because she fled.. She left that man to die..9 month William Anderson and the D.A.s. office should be ashamed…I guess it does depend who you are.. This makes me sick..
Conditions of probation include not driving for six months and substance abuse counseling? Substance abuse? Substance abuse?WTHeck, why is she not being treated like others who murder while abusing substance?
…another slap on the wrist for drunk driving death…Maine courts mock common sense and the law…
I am ashamed to say I personally know this woman (not a lady). She puts on a grand caring person, but her actions speak for the kind she really is… She got away with manslaughter, as she most definitely was drinking and driving!! That 9 months will go by too fast for her, but the family of Josh will have to live without him for all time. My prayers for Josh’s family and friends.