LEWISTON, Maine — A local woman who suffered a medical crisis after using cocaine at her boyfriend’s home has died.
Tracy Harris, 39, was hospitalized Wednesday after her boyfriend, Paul A. Michaud, 47, called emergency workers to his Prospect Avenue home. Harris died at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Friday morning.
Hours later, Michaud was in 8th District Court in Lewiston to answer charges of drug trafficking and furnishing drugs.
Judge Rick Lawrence set Michaud’s bail at $30,000 property or $5,000 cash, with the conditions that he be supervised by Maine Pretrial Services and that he not drink or take drugs.
Lawrence also strongly advised Michaud to reconsider attending a service for Harris because her family would be upset by his presence.
Michaud’s lawyer, Verne Paradie, said his client is expected to post bail Monday.
However, Michaud may face additional charges. Paradie said the district attorney’s office has advised him that it is considering manslaughter charges in the wake of Harris’ death.
Paradie said his client is distraught at Harris’ death and that blaming him for it would be “unfortunate.”
“This isn’t a situation where somebody’s forcing somebody to take drugs or somebody’s forcing somebody to drink too much,” Paradie said. “According to the police report, the two were consensually, mutually participating in drug use.”
He said Harris had been experiencing chest pains and numbness in the days before her cocaine use and he believes a heart attack may have been to blame or may have been a contributing factor.
“Obviously, it’s a very sad situation,” Paradie said. “Paul feels awful that this has happened.”
In court documents, police said Michaud called for help shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday, telling emergency dispatchers that Harris was in cardiac arrest. A Lewiston police officer arrived first, failed to find Harris’ pulse and started CPR. The Lewiston Fire Department and United Ambulance arrived soon after.
As ambulance workers continued CPR, court documents said, the Lewiston police officer noticed marijuana, two pipes that appeared to be used for smoking drugs, a mirror with white powder residue and a small bowl with white powder in the bedroom where Harris was found. Police said Michaud admitted that Harris had used cocaine around 9 p.m., and then later admitted that he had given her six hits of cocaine through the course of the night and they had both been drinking cocktails.
Harris was taken to the hospital and Michaud was arrested. According to court documents, police said Michaud told them, “I’m not a drug dealer; I just sell some to support my own habit.”
good God, there getting dummer by the day…..gd drugs are the devils tools, and their nailing their own selves to the walls!!of prison!!
dummer? devils tools? oi.
I think it’s an affectation designed to bring you into the story and identify with the dealer boyfriend and his dead girlfriend..
It’s like Huckleberry Finn, only set in present day Lewiston.
dummer indeed
Denial and minimization go along with addiction. The attorney ought not be feeding into that. This man has to live with the outcome of the mutually bad decision that cost him someone he loved. He may not have caused her death, but he certainly supported her movement in that direction.
Not sure I agree with the manslaughter charge if she willingly took the drugs. He didn’t force her, she was an adult able to make her own decisions. My view is if he hadn’t been providing someone else would have, she ultimately is responsible. Sad as it may be,
But he DID supply the drugs to her … “and then later admitted that he had given her six hits of cocaine through the course of the night”. If he hadn’t supplied the cocaine, she more then likely would still be alive today. Very young and very unfortunate.
If he didn’t, someone else would have. She would have found what she wanted.
Bravo
What is a “hit” of cocaine and how to you give it to someone? I went to college in the 70’s and never heard of this method. It almost sounds like they weren’t even using it right.
When Vermont’s drug deaths escalated, they held a special session at the statehouse and made the penalties stiffer for the dealers/providers of any drug causing death. 19 yrs. prison term for one friend supplying another. You are the dealer if you are supplying and killing anyone other than yourself.
Maine’s drug problem continues to escalate and the only way to slow that down is the solution Vermont used. Charge the person supplying the drug with manslaughter. When their university’s star athlete overdosed, the person providing that drug got 19 yrs in prison….only then did their drug deaths begin to slow down.
I don’t think anyone using drugs is under any false impression that it’s legal. They continue in spite of the laws, the potential for prison, and in this case, the threat of death. The solution is more support for people on drugs to become sober, not throwing them all in prison without any resolution of the issue and without pretending that being behind lock and key means there are no drugs circulating.
jail sobers them up and gets them off all substances fast…unlike any treatment of methadone or suboxone which can be lifelong at the clinics.
Drugs are available in every prison in Maine. Drugs have always been a problem and always will be, despite the millions of dollars thrown at the problem by taxpayers.
Perhaps you missed this?
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/11/30/news/midcoast/drug-use-remains-prevalent-inside-maine-state-prison/
Hmmm, According to court documents, police said Michaud told them, “I’m not a drug dealer; I just sell some to support my own habit.”
Well, guess what, that kind of does make him a drug dealer in my book.
And every other book on the planet. Selling drugs to others = dealing.
Hmmm just another Friday night what’s the big deal?? The average person has no idea of the crap that is in these drugs nor of potential side effects
At least this guy did the right thing by calling for help. Many others would have tried to cover this up to save themselves. My heart goes out to the family.
So lots of booze and coke are the cure for ongoing chest pains and numbness?
It appears not.
It appears it was since she doesn’t have any pain or numbness now. Note to self home remedy not to try.
Just another day in Maine.
True and getting worse.
And the rest of the country
Serious question: does this create a situation where the next guy who is in this situation may not call 911 because he knows that it’s a straight path to jail?
I’m not suggested he should have immunity, but I think that we as a society want to some how incentive calling 911, not create more (or more seriously hurt) victims.
I thought coke made you skinny?
A bit if steep charge because of her own recklessness…Yes he may of had the drug supply but I am sure that we all can agree that he did not FORCE her to consume the cocaine and whatever else she may have ingested(pills…etc) before that. But it is right to put him behind bars for decades(at OUR expense…mind you) for her PREVIOUS use of drugs that I’m sure had already done some damage to her body already BEFORE she did his cocaine that unfortunately caused her untimely death? I say yes he should go to prison for the posession and the dealing of cocaine but potential manslaughter? I say no blaming him for her death because in truth if he did not have the cocaine she wanted, she would have found the cocaine elsewhere.
The manslaughter charges are out of hand. He did not force the girl to do the drugs, and I think he will learn from the drug charges, and watching his girlfriend die. Give the guy a break
So very very sad.