ELLSWORTH, Maine — The new district attorney for Hancock and Washington counties said problematic evidence led him to accept a misdemeanor plea in a vehicular manslaughter case that involved the death of a Whiting teenager three years ago.
Aaron Foss, 23, was the driver of a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck when it went off Route 191 in East Machias and struck a utility pole and a tree on Feb. 5, 2012. Francis Finn, 16, of Whiting was a passenger in the pickup. He died in the crash.
On Jan. 20, Foss pleaded no contest in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court to criminal charges of driving to endanger and reckless conduct and to a civil charge of causing a death while committing a traffic infraction, according to court documents.
He was sentenced to serve six months in jail on the driving to endanger conviction. On the reckless conduct conviction, he received a fully suspended sentence of 364 days. Because of his admission to the civil charge, his driver’s license was suspended for four years.
Foss also was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, an additional $575 fine and perform 100 hours of community service upon his release from jail, according to court documents.
Foss had been charged with manslaughter, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and aggravated driving to endanger, all of which are felonies. Those charges were dismissed when Foss pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor criminal charges and to the civil charge.
Matt Foster, district attorney for Hancock and Washington counties, said proving Foss guilty of the more serious charges would have been difficult.
He said there were problems with the reliability of evidence about how fast Foss was driving when the accident occurred and that Foss was not charged with drunken driving, even though tests administered to Foss after the accident indicated he had been drinking.
“I think the [plea] agreement was absolutely the best the state could have hoped for,” Foster said. “There was a significant chance he could have walked away, scot-free, [by being found not guilty at a trial].”
Finn’s mother, Marie Finn, was unavailable for comment. Don Brown, Foss’ defense attorney, declined to comment on specifics of the case.
“It’s a tragedy for everybody involved,” Brown said. “We think, given the circumstances, that it was an appropriate resolution.”
