ROCKLAND, Maine — A 41-year-old Rockport man charged with manslaughter in connection with the January death of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle will remain in jail, at least through Friday.
Judge Patricia Worth rejected the request by attorneys for Jeremy Stone to amend his bail so that he could be released to live with his mother in Montville and report regularly to the Waldo County sheriff’s office.
His attorneys had argued that the alleged bail violations that landed him back in jail after his release on bail were very minor. Police said he violated conditions of release by testing positive for marijuana and for being one pill short in a prescription that he had received the prior day.
Attorney Jonathan Handelman said his client denies using marijuana and the positive test could have been the result of eating something with marijuana in it that he was not aware contained the drug. Or, Handelman argued, it could have been from inhaling secondhand marijuana smoke.
The attorney also maintained that Maine Pre-Trial Services refused to monitor Stone if he was released because the case had received extensive publicity.
Defense Attorney Andrew Wright reiterated that argument and said Stone was not a risk to flee.
Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Baroody argued that Stone should continue to be held for public safety reasons.
Judge Worth agreed with Baroody and told the defense attorneys that she doubted the jail diversion program would not oversee Stone because there had been too much publicity in the case.
A bail revocation hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Stone is charged with manslaughter, aggravated criminal operating under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident involving death and possessing improper plates. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Police said Stone was driving drunk Jan. 30, when his Jeep Cherokee struck 35-year-old Daniel Cormier as he walked along Camden Street near Pizza Hut with two friends. Cormier was declared dead upon arrival at the local hospital. The friends were not injured.
Officers were led to Stone by his ex-wife, who went to the crash scene and told police her husband had called her to say he had messed up and believed he had hit someone, according to an affidavit filed with the court by police. When officers went to a residence in Rockland to speak to Stone, he allegedly admitted he had struck something but was not sure what it was because it was raining and visibility was poor.
Stone said he did not stop because he panicked, as he had illegally attached false registration plates on his vehicle, according to the court document.