WISCASSET, Maine — An Episcopal priest from Augusta and two inmates at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset have been charged with bringing illegal prescription drugs into the jail, according to police.
The Rev. Stephen Foote, 70, of Bremen allegedly smuggled the drug suboxone into the jail during the month of October, according to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department Detective Michael Murphy.
Foote, who was arrested and bailed out of jail on Nov. 1, is charged with Class C trafficking in prison contraband. Charged with Class D attempted trafficking in prison contraband in the case are Joshua Theriault Patten, 25, of Bremen, who Murphy said is one of Foote’s parishioners, and Adam Shawley, 27, of Newport. Murphy said Patten and Shawley arranged for the drug to be mailed to Foote. Murphy would not comment on how Foote allegedly transferred the drugs to the inmates.
Murphy said suboxone is most commonly used to fight opiate addiction, though he said he suspects that Patten and Shawley were using it recreationally.
“As with a lot of other drugs such as methadone, it’s now being abused,” said Murphy. “The information we developed led us back to the reverend.”
The probe into the case lasted through most of October after an investigator at the jail learned of the alleged drug smuggling. Murphy said Foote visited with Patten often. Investigators seized about 80 milligrams of suboxone in the course of the investigation.
Murphy said Foote, who at the time of his arrest was the interim priest-in-charge at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Augusta, has admitted to the charges against him.
Heidi Shott, canon for communications in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, said in a written statement to the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday that the Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane, bishop of the diocese, learned of Foote’s arrest on Nov. 1 and placed him on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.
Foote retired as dean of The Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Portland in 2003 and has been serving as the transitional priest-in-charge at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Augusta recently.
“The Diocese of Maine will cooperate fully with the criminal investigation,” reads the statement. “The arrest automatically engages our Title IV proceedings, the disciplinary process for clergy that is canonically required by the Episcopal Church. The bishop receives this news with sadness and deep concern, and requests that Maine Episcopalians keep all parties in their prayers as we move through these difficult days.”
Foote declined to comment Wednesday when reached at his home by telephone. He referred questions to Newcastle attorney William Avantaggio, who could not be reached immediately.
Holy smokes!!!
Another”Reverend”?
WHAT!? Another reverend? No. It can’t be. They are all good people according
to some of you folks yesterday. Religion is bad news and has lots of bad people
involved in it.
They are just people . Not good or bad . Just some seem to think they are saints . More likely to get away with things because of societies views of them as being saints.
Yes, and you can be sure this was not the first time he transported drugs
to the jail. If it was he is the unluckiest guy alive. I’m not believing he has not
been doing this on a regular basis.
Yes but he would have been the least likely one they would have thought. I would bet many who work in the jails do this . I have talked to people in jail drugs are not hard to get.
one thing i have learned through out the years is they are human they are not god.they make mistakes like you and i. that is why iam not going to church. i was brought up catholic. they make mistakes too. i was looking for god in these people to guide me . i had my own messes i was trying to get out of. they are human. this guy is 70 years old. old age senility may be his issue. on the other hand the economy is making people do what they normally wouldnt do.
“Religion is bad news and has lots of bad people involved in it.”
As opposed to non-religion which has no bad people involved in it?!
Cute ;+)…..That’s the best you can do? Religion is based on fear, ignorance,
and ego. More wars have started and more people have been killed because
of religion than anything else.
Not big on organized religion myself, but I sense that’s not what you mean.
Yeah…..that’s what I mean. Only difference between
organized religion and a cult is the number of people that show up and the amount of money extracted from the participants.
Just suppose that this minister (who is seventy) was sincerely attempting to alieviate suffering in one of his parisioners? There are some people (rare I’ll admit) who can not stand the sight of a person in pain, and will do damn near ANYTHING to stopthe pain.
Guess I’ll wait for the outcome of this case before passing my judgement.
You raise a good point. If you were the ‘minister’ would you share your concerns with prison staff to get them the help they need or would you circumnavigate the justice system?
You don’t get meds for drug addiction in prison. You go cold turkey.
I believe the word is circumvent. Don’t mean to be a grammer nazi but that word really didn’t work there.
Prison staff are not hired for their compassion. I wouyldn’t want them to be. There are people (I am not one of them) who believe there is a higher law than man’s.
That’s true, and the last “famous” person who did anything to alleviate suffering was Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who served 8 years for alleviating people’s pain. Wonder what the good pastor will get?
A fair point, but don’t either one of them seem to be wasting away from a bad disease. Stepping around the usual routine doesn’t seem to fit too well in this situation… We’ll see
That’s my take on the situation–the Rev thought he was actually helping someone. It’s very difficult to get off opiates to begin with, and to have to do it behind prison walls has got to make it that much worse. If the intent were sincere, I can understand the motivation. That being said, what he did is illegal and he should be punished.
A clergyman or woman who honestly believes in the teachings in the Bible should be more above reproach than even the POTUS or someone like General Petreaus. Those who are, simply, are lost in the shuffle of the ones who come into the public light through actions such as this. Human beings are not perfect, but there are certainly those who have chosen a path in life where they should live their lives as close to perfect as they can. Once they step out of that path, they deserve the loss of respect they end up seeing.
Agreed, but wouldn’t it be nice if everyone lived their lives like that? I know I try.
Not for nothing, partner, but this doesn’t have anything at all to do with the President or that General — zip, zero, zilch. LOL
Another unethical Reverend!? Another blow to religion! Where has the goodness gone in people?
Does not matter what your title is…everyone has to make a living doing whatever it takes. Stephen Foote is no different than anyone else. Perhaps he was forced into doing it. Makes you wonder who you can trust. Carlson is only the tip of the iceberg around here.
There is one under every stone… What would Jesus have done?
I’ll give the man credit for admitting his guilt right away but I’m sure his title and age will keep him from receiving any jail time.
but i notice he did get a lawyer…
Maybe he was afraid of these men. They quite possibly threatened him to do what they wanted. Drug addicts can be like that…
Where did he get the drugs?
Now there’s a good question! I am at a crossroads with this story. i’m not sure what to think of a 70 year old whether he be a reverend or not smuggling drugs into a jail. There has to be more to it. Where he got the drugs is a good start.
From the article: Murphy said Patten and Shawley arranged for the drug to be mailed to Foote, who then brought it into the jail.
Missed that. Thanks
I’m not quite sure what to think about this – I could see where he would want to help his fellow man by alleviating their pain due to detoxing and there is always that possibility that he was threatened or he could be just an enabler.
I agree. Probably trying to help them self-moderate their withdrawal symptoms.
A 70 year old minister delivering drugs to a 25 year old inmate from his parish certainly leaves a lot of room for questions, ahem.
I wonder where he stands on performing gay/lesbian weddings.
what does that have to do with anything?
Ok…Annie…I’ll explain it to ya. I thought all those religious types were the moral compass of society. At least that’s how they tried to come off. Guess when they do something others find objectionable (like sneaking drugs into a jail) it’s okay. The guy is a fraud. How is this guy any different than a drug dealer plying his trade from a car outside some drinking dive? Also, the only difference between organized religion and a cult is the number of people who gather at a meeting. It’s no wonder organized religion is dwindling in numbers. But hey…..let’s not marry two people in love simply because they are of the same gender. Now do ya get it? It’s about the hypocracy of religion. Next time I’ll type slower.
It is very easy for comments on this forum to get misconstrued. Sarcasm often is not seen for what it is intended,etc.
Neck tat
Both of them lol
SMH
What is with all the freakin neck tats? I mean really.
Picture of #3?
Actually Shawley is one of my son’s “real” friends. Drugs in the jail system is nothing new, and more easily avail than on the streets. So i’m sure that he was trying to help those boys get off drugs, before they got to the streets. Although now that he’s caught im sure the story may change into a bullying situation.(lesser charges on his part)
judas priest
I wonder if the threatened him in any way to do this?
He really should have known better. These guys don’t even need drugs in jail. It’s the best place to get cleaned out.
They all knew better…Build more prisons for jokers like these…and get with the times, forget your piss taxes,and your so called rights!
Suboxone by foote!
When is this country going to wake up to the evil that hides and comes out of religious institutions (cults)? They have too much money (tax them) they have too much time for evil mischief (Bob Carlson) put them out of business and be done with it. We have freedom “of” religion we also have freedom “from” religion.
I know both of these inmate very well.. both are scum, they probably found dirt on the guy, and held it against him, or they played him like a book, and co-erced him into doing this… threatening is another avenue.. the :”you go to staff and I’ll have someone at your house tonight!” usually works for those un-preparred.. I get death threats daily… I’m used to it. never become the “duck”..
Really too bad he got caught up in this; they used him and that’s all there is to it