BELFAST, Maine — An Augusta woman deemed a dangerous driver by the state will spend two years in prison and must pay a fine of $2,465 after being sentenced last week at Waldo County Superior Court under Tina’s Law, which imposes stiff sentences on habitual offenders.
Clover E. Vega, 30, was sentenced on several charges connected with a 2011 incident in Winterport, when she was arrested after she was seen operating erratically on Main Street.
Deputy Kevin Littlefield of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an investigation narrative filed at Waldo County Superior Court that it took him more than a mile to catch up to Vega, who drove a black Cadillac that drifted around the road.
When he asked Vega for her license, registration and proof of insurance, she told him to just “take her to jail,” Littlefield wrote, adding that it was because she had no license at that time. Additionally, Vega was slurring her speech, he wrote, and told him that she had gone to the methadone clinic that morning. She was charged with operating under the influence with two prior convictions, violating conditions of release, refusing to sign a uniform summons complaint and aggravated operating after habitual offender revocation with prior convictions.
Vega’s case originally had been handled through Maine’s Co-occurring Disorders and Veterans Court, a specialized court designed for people with both mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Attorney Jeremy Pratt of Camden, who defended her, said his client moved to Kennebec County in order to be part of that court. There, she received judicial oversight, strict monitoring, rapid access to specialized treatment and case management services in lieu of jail or a reduced sentence for successful completion.
“It’s a very intensive program I wish was offered throughout the state,” Pratt said. “I’ve had quite a few clients go through there, most with very good results — they dramatically turned their lives around.”
But this summer, Vega admitted to using prohibited substances and withdrew from that court.
“This court is a very good court,” Pratt said. “It’s just not a fit for everyone.”
When Vega was sentenced on Monday, Sept. 21, at Waldo County Superior Court, she received the mandatory minimum for the most serious charge, aggravated operating after high offender revocation — three years in prison with all but two suspended and one year of probation. That charge was created under Tina’s Law, which was enacted in 2006 and is named for Tina Turcotte, who died of injuries in a Maine Turnpike accident caused by a trucker with a lengthy record of offenses.
“I wish the Legislature would re-examine mandatory minimums and allow the courts to revisit sentences,” Pratt said. “In this case I think the court was handcuffed.”
Efforts Tuesday to speak with Assistant District Attorney David Spencer, who prosecuted the case, were not immediately successful.