BANGOR, Maine — A Bar Harbor musician with a reported repertoire of more than 700 songs was not supposed to begin serving his sentence for driving drunk in Acadia National Park in violation of his license condition until after the first of the year.
A federal judge Monday ordered John M. Tercyak, 56, to begin serving his sentencing immediately and tripled his time behind bars to 90 days after Tercyak admitted that he violated his probation by smoking marijuana.
He is being held at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison.
Tercyak originally was sentenced Sept. 11 in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to operating a motor vehicle in a national park while under the influence of alcohol and operating a motor vehicle in violation of a condition or restriction of his driver’s license. Tercyak was forbidden from drinking any alcohol and driving.
U.S Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk more than two months ago, sentenced Tercyak to six months of probation on the drunken driving charge and 30 days in jail on the violation of driving conditions charge. The probation sentence was to begin immediately but the judge stayed the jail term until Feb. 4, according to court documents.
Kravchuk also ordered Tercyak to pay a $1,000 fine and pay $1,369 in restitution to the park to repair the 18 coping stones damaged this spring in the incident on Park Loop Road when Tercyak was arrested with a blood alcohol level of .13 percent. The legal limit in Maine is .08 percent.
On Nov. 1, during a home visit, Tercyak’s federal probation officer found marijuana and the paraphernalia to smoke it, according to court documents. The conditions of his probation forbid Tercyak from drinking alcohol and using other controlled substances.
The original charges stemmed from an incident April 22 when, after receiving several reports from witnesses, a park ranger saw that Tercyak’s vehicle had gone off the right side of the pavement, traveled about 180 feet and struck 18 granite coping stones, according to a previously published report. Tercyak’s car suffered damage to the right side, rear, both axles and both right side wheels, according to court documents.
The speed limit on Park Loop Road is 25 mph, but Tercyak told rangers he had been traveling more than 50 mph when he looked over his left shoulder toward Sand Beach just before the accident.
According to Tercyak’s website, the guitarist and fiddler has more than 25 years of performing experience and a repertoire of more than 700 songs.
Tercyak faced a maximum jail time of six months, a fine up to $5,000 and up to five years of probation.
I made a thoughtless comment that I have deleted. My apologies.
I wish you well John.
“According to Tercyak’s website, the guitarist and fiddler has more than 25 years of performing experience and a repertoire of more than 700 songs.”
Just what the ell have his talents and employment got to do with any of this?
It’s lately been called the “back story” which I for one found of interest.
I think the back story is important. It helps to break our stereotypes and show that people making an honest living based onpersonal effort and achievement are susceptible to the same weaknesses that bring down people in incredible positions of power as well as losers who don’t have a single positive aspect to their lives. This is a really unfortunate story, and while John “broke the rules” by having marijuana in his home, I have a hard time understanding how that posed any particular danger to the public (unlike the original DUI charge).
Bid deal. It’s time to stop throwing people in jail for such minimal things like smoking a joint.
I agree with your comment, however, this was more than Pot!
Who really cares about the pot. It was disobeying the judges conditions that got him in early. They don’t like that (as a rule).
Unless your name is Lindsey Lohan!
Good point!
Isn’t she the one that walks out of rehab (or community service), didn’t shoplift that necklace, wasn’t driving that car and missed court because her visa was stolen? Talk about an enabled brat (if I got the right one)! Thy are all confusing, even if you watch TMZ. :)
the big problem for him was that he was busted on federal land, making it a federal offense. which is what y’all want to avoid , ever.
big problem for him, you say!……..he chose to drink while being drunk.
Naughty boy. He sure looks dangerous!!! OUI is his only offense as far as I’m concerned. Legalize it & it won’t be a problem. Time for taxpayers to rebel at these needless sentences & fines for a little pot.
Ah, seems more like the REAL problem was being hammered, running the pick-up a couple hundred feet off the road then smashing it all up. See really wasn’t about pot at all to begin with! Got yanked by his Fed’l PO for using while on probation, but he didn’t get charged with it.
Come to think, rather have a wild boar chasing me than a Fed’l PO snooping into my every move. My brother had one for a couple years, seemed like the dude was really annoyed over flunking the FBI entrance exam. But once he realize there was more than one brother and none of us was impressed, and it was a long way to the ground from the 3rd fl porch, he became scarce. LOL
Food for thought: The fine is bigger for harassing a mule on government property than it is to be a banker and bilk the system of tens of thousands of dollars. Furthermore, there are more federal park rangers with a higher level of enforcement authority than there are bank regulators with the same powers.
A very sick system.
Listening to one of his Youtube videos now, pretty good voice. “What A Wonderful Life”.
90 days? Heck, that’ll be a break for him to come up with some jailhouse blues to fiddle about — might even boost his career a bit, give him the Johnny Cash sort of edge. Might also inspire him to rethink things a bit — flying off the road, wrecking the truck and busting up granite stones in a Federal Park don’t sound like ‘social drinking.’ Just saying.
Jail time for the talented musician.
Drunk driving is a serious offense.
Puts us all in danger.
Time to pay the piper, as they say.
“Nobody knows, the troubles I’ve seen.”
I could care less about the Pot, Let him serve his deserved time for the OUI. Suspend his license and be done with it.
Increasing this man’s sentence by 60 days for an act that is not a crime in this state (possession and consumption of cannabis are civil offenses, not crimes, in Maine) will cost taxpayers approximately $8,000 .
I could swear there are signs all over saying Maine has tough drunk driving laws. Why do we not use them. these people drive drunk and high putting innocent people in danger and get 30 to 90 days in jail? This is tough?? All one has to do is read BDN to see the stories of those who are multiple repete offenders but are still driving and still drunk…