BANGOR, Maine — A local man with a prior conviction for selling cocaine who allegedly was caught with the same street drug last month at Acadia National Park entered a not guilty plea Monday on the drug possession charge and was granted a trial in U.S. District Court.
Glenn G. Watson, 63, of Bangor was arrested June 24 in the Lakewood parking area of Acadia after Park Ranger Elliot Arsenault saw a large plume of smoke coming from a silver Ford Escort, according to the court complaint.
Arsenault found marijuana in a compartment in the driver’s side door, cocaine in a plastic container in the front passenger compartment and $1,400 in cash in the car Watson had borrowed, the court document states.
Watson was charged with possession of cocaine, a federal misdemeanor. He faces up to a year in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $100,000, if convicted.
Two days after his arrest, on June 26, Watson was released on $1,000 unsecured bail after appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Nivison in U.S. District Court in Bangor.
Nivison accepted Watson’s not guilty plea on Monday and set July 21 as the deadline for motions and set the trial date as Aug. 28.
Bail conditions include not using alcohol or illegal drugs, being tested for alcohol and illegal drugs, not possessing firearms, and undergoing a mental health evaluation if directed to do so by the U.S. Department of Probation and Pretrial Services.
Watson has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1988, according to Bangor Daily News archives. He was arrested by Bangor police in April 2010, one week after he finished a 15-month prison term for cocaine trafficking.
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.