ELLSWORTH, Maine — A local businessman will serve a five-day jail sentence after being found in possession of $3,500 worth of oxycodone in June.
Patrick Jordan, 43, of Ellsworth, pleaded no contest Thursday to a felony charge of possession of a scheduled drug as part of a deferred disposition agreement in Hancock County Superior Court. A charge of unlawful furnishing in scheduled drugs was dropped as part of the agreement.
Jordan is the president and CEO of R.F. Jordan and Sons, a prominent Ellsworth construction firm that has contracted with the city several times.
He was arrested in June after agents with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency observed Jordan meeting a woman, Julie Edwards, in a High Street parking lot. After the pair separated, police stopped Jordan’s truck and searched it. There they found 87 30-milligram oxycodone tablets — with a street value of $3,500 — and $4,495 in cash.
Jordan originally was charged with unlawful trafficking of oxycodone, but the charge subsequently was changed to unlawful possession of a scheduled drug, and unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs.
As part of the deferred disposition agreement, Jordan will serve a five-day jail sentence beginning Jan. 2, 2013. He will appear again in court in November 2013. If, at that time, he has complied with his bail conditions, the felony charge will be lowered to a misdemeanor. Jordan will then pay a $1,000 fine and be on his way. Conditions of bail include not breaking any laws and not possessing or using any drugs.
Glen Porter, Jordan’s attorney, said Friday that his client maintains his innocence despite the no contest plea, and that if the matter had been brought to trial, he would have shown that Jordan was “set up.”
Porter said that Jordan has submitted to drug testing weekly since his arrest and has passed those tests each time.
Jordan has no prior criminal record. After his arrest, he resigned from his position on the board of directors of Downeast Family YMCA “in order to spare the Y any inconvenience,” according to a June statement from his attorney.
“In the end, he pleaded no contest just to end this,” Porter said, “to end the impact on his business, his family, his wife and his children.”
Julie Edwards, the woman Jordan met that day in June, also was arrested and charged with unlawful trafficking in oxycodone and is free on bail. A third man, Tyler Walker, was arrested in connection with the bust a week later. Walker’s case will go to grand jury for indictment on Dec. 21.
Follow Mario Moretto on Twitter at @riocarmine.
Five days in jail for 87 Oxys and $4.5K in cash, what a bargain! Odd how that works for a ‘prominent businessman.’ Lets see how it rolls out for the other two folks involved… The Unwritten Law says one out of the three has to get the beak-smash just to make a public example, and one is now out of the picture…
Look at the look on his face in that mugshot. Bet his mom would be really proud. Loser.
Friday news dump.. Extra Extra
Another “Pusher” goes free!
If he was poor, he would be in prison.
yep
Definitely AGREED
Yep FREE … to run to the bank with his” hard earned” money !
This special treatment he rec”d from the Ellsworth (non) justice system is an abomination!!!
Is it that corrupt in other cities in Maine?
Well you can’t blame the Ellsworth System, he was being prosecuted by the State of Maine Attorney General’s Office, they are the ones who made the plea deal with him!!!!
Some deal there. Justice is supposed to be blind, but deaf and dumb is more like it.
No excuse for people that break the law, but people have to look at these pharmaceutical companies who are developing HIGHLY addictive narcotics, and doctors prescribe them like they’re giving out candy. Instead of going after the addict all the time, we should be focusing on the people who actually manufacture these highly powerful drugs.
Of the three entities involved: 1) manufacturers of a legitimate product, 2) the drug abuser (however they got hooked), 3) the pusher for profit.
Which one is the lowest of the low?
@ Matt and County.
Excuses for Law breaking Matt? The people that write the laws do not follow those laws, that, they wrote, as we do. The origin of law is to control a population without the means to control themselves, meaning “I have property and you don’t, therefore, what I write on paper you must follow”
If higher positioned people become involved with illegal activity they will almost* always, have lesser sentences, lesser punishment, like – 5 days in jail. If they are poor and a minority – they will receive the harshest penalties allowed – please review –> foxnews crime, Cnn.com crime, .gov sites with census information, etc. Not that you may disagree Matt – anyone that disbelieves what I am saying, research and see if I am wrong.
*75% of OTT.
County Escapee
1) Law writers decide what is a legitimate product – usually with the help of lobbyists with considerable money and influence.
2) Drug Abusers – Everyone (joking), a considerably high amount of Americans use substances for a good time or for pain, either or, usually funded by Pharmaceutical industry.
3) The lowest of the low – Law Writers (IMO)
Without going into the all peripherals of the laws, who wrote and administers them to whom, my question to matt was, of the three contenders, was the most reprehensible.
My vote is by far the pushers
$4,495 in cash WOAH money for Mac Donalds!
Kinda makes me wonder if his case against another local business is legit or just a way of making some quick cash.
My guess would be that this man has a serious addiction and those pills were for personal use. When you are an addict you get as many pills as you can so you never run out and experience withdrawals. I highly doubt this man was selling drugs, since he already makes a great deal of money legitimately. Why would someone risk his business, family, etc over a bit of extra money? The only logical conclusion is that he was feeding his own addiction. After being caught he probably went to a friendly Dr. and got a prescription for opiates, which would allow him to “pass” his drug tests while still feeding his addiction.
The addiction may be to money, not drugs. Some people NEVER have enough money.
Funny thing though, The Jordan company has been doing a large project in Machias over the last 6 months. You know the Machias that is the Washington County seat. Washington County (in case anyone missed the news stories) is a fertile market for any of the “Oxy’s”
So , if this guy is an addict and the pills were for “personal use”
how long would 87 oxy’s last , before needing more?
And how was he “set up”, exactly?
Most addicts can crush and snort a considerable amount of prescription medications, doing thousands of dollars worth of drugs, in less then a week. I would think that they would die, but no, they keep on going.
Some of them go deaf (LOL Rush Limbaugh LOL)
and dumber and more stupid….
I believed the woman drug dealer was doing a favor for the police in order to get other drug charges against her dropped
Thanks , I figured out the woman was squeezed by the law to “set up” this pillar of the community?
——– But he wouldnt have bought it if he didnt want that garbage in the first place.
Unless it was ” entrapment” or something.
I believe he was ready , willing and able in all regards.
An active participant to this and other “dope deals”.
……. So, the real question… Where did the woman get her stuff to start with??
Must be a “kingpin” out there somewhere.
Maybe on the bus headed up from Mass or NYC this minute.
Lets see some action in that regard.
Where there is a demand there will always be a market, regardless of how we feel about the market, or how horrible we treat the suppliers of said market. What action can we do to a market that is, not surviving but flourishing, even though the war on drugs is costing America 50 billion a year? This is not including prison sentences, with already 800,000 prisoners in jail, we house the largest prison system in the world.
What do we do? Do we start killing the suppliers? Do we sentence them to life imprisonment? Cost of prisoner per year: (made unrealistically low) 35K * 15 years = around 500k.
My point, going after the market, does very little. Regulating the substances, takes control of the market and reduces crime, reduces prison sentences, and increases treatment, plus also opens the market for taxation. It prevents the Mafia, Cartels, Triads, and other murderous criminal entities from operating within the market.
5 days SERIOUSLY ?? What a joke….yeah 5 days THAT will show him !!
What a joke. I’ll bet the other ,not so well connected, people in this case don’t make out as well unless they want to make it appear as though they are not being biased.
This guy never accepts responsibilty, still claiming he was “set up” , won’t plead guilty pleads no contest. His attorney said if the case would have gone to trial he would have proven he was set up. Does that make sense? Do you really think MDEA has time to “set up” a local spoiled brat on a simple possession case. This guy has been fed with a silver spoon and knows nothing about accepting responsibility. I bet this is not the last we hear of him!
well said, money bought his way out of this one
O and they better have an extra cook for 5 days!
….
What!????!!!! No neck tattoo? lol. Must be on the back.
Hey , thats my line.
good one.
Gotta love a neck/face tattoo.
Clowns.
Who among us would plead no contest to a crime we did not commit if we were truly innocent? I’d fight with everything I had to clear my name. Mr. Jordan, do you really think anyone believes that you’ve not broken any laws?
I bet you would if the government was telling you that you have the chance to be guilty of a misdemeanor and do 5 days in jail or they will charge you with a felony and fabricate evidence and the cops will get on the stand and lie and you will go to prison for several years.
I’d take that shot if I were totally innocent Two years or the chance to clear my “good” name.
Sometimes it’s just too risky to go to trial, even if you are innocent.
The DA offices are not interested in truth and justice, they are interested in convicting people. And they will do whatever they can to spin their “evidence” in a way that gets innocent people convicted, and the judges and law enforcers often assist them in doing so.
If Mr. Jordan was “set up” as many people commenting here assert, why is it that other respected businessmen don’t find themselves in similar circumstances? Why did the local drug lords pick him? I have no idea whether he’s guilty or innocent. I just don’t believe a totally innocent man with his position in the community would plead guilty to something he had no part in. Think about it. He’s now tainted for the rest of his life in spite of his good deeds for his community. He should have fought for his reputation if he’s not guilty.
I agree with just about everything you wrote, but I can see why sometimes an innocent person pleads guilty.
It happens, an innocent person’s lawyer says, “I know you are innocent, but you will certainly be convicted if you go to trial. Take the plea.” Either way, they are going to look guilty in the eyes of the community.
I’d take a plea on an OUI charge.Most people see that and similar offenses as bad judgement at a moment in time. Society won’t shun you forever on that one. Drugs and prostitution…you’ll never live it down. People will stare and whisper about you and your family in a restaurant. It will never go away.
rightfully so!!
Just ask the people in that area.. they know what his ‘status’ is!! can we say talk of the town!!
What happened to the Dealer?? Was she arrested? or was she working for the Police? The whole thing stinks.
This guy harmed no one. No victim No Crime.
Yawn. I still don’t care what people do to their bodies and this is a waste of our tax dollars. I’m sure not everybody goes out and buys a pill every day. Some people must buy a 2 or 3 month supply for convenience. I don’t see why we should care.
How dare they put the job providers in jail! Give this man a tax break and let him get back to saving the country from Obama!
Lets see if this past summers stay in a Florida Rehab will help him break his addiction……most likely not……..It’s already made a mess of his family and I do believe his wife is NO longer too…..The Ellsworth court system is a corrupt joke…..
I agree about the Ellsworth Court System, however, he was being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
BDN: Nobody cares why is this news? Report on something positive rather than this crap…any positive volunteer activity in Ellsworth we could talk about?
87 pills valued at $3500? Where are they buying them. When I was taking them 240 cost me $76 at a pharmacy.