ROCKLAND, Maine — A Rockport man was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for driving drunk, striking and killing a pedestrian, and then fleeing the scene.
Jeremy Stone, 42, of Rockport was sentenced by Justice William Stokes to 10 years in prison with all but three years suspended for manslaughter and aggravated operating under the influence for the January 2015 death of 35-year-old Daniel Cormier.
Stone also will be on probation for four years upon his release. In addition, he was fined $2,500 and will lose his driver’s license for 10 years.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 30 years.
The defense and prosecution had reached an agreement last month in which Stone would not serve more than three years and the defense could argue for less time.
The failure of Stone to stop when he knew he had struck something was a significant aggravating factor in setting the sentence, Stokes said. The justice also said that Stone’s criminal record played a role in his deciding to accept the prosecution’s higher sentence.
Stone was convicted of assault in 2007 and three times of operating after suspension, the most recent being in 2012. Those traffic offenses show that Stone had a disregard for motor vehicle laws, Stokes concluded.
Cormier’s brother Patrick Cormier spoke on behalf of the victim’s family and friends, eight of whom attended the hearing.
He asked the judge to set an example in the state with the sentencing of Stone.
“He killed my brother. He left him on the street to die in front of friends,” Patrick Cormier said.
He said Stone did not deserve any leniency because of that. The brother added that he did not want to be filled with hate and anger, and that the healing would begin today with the sentencing of the person who killed his brother.
Stone addressed the judge and apologized to the family. He said it was never his intention to hurt anyone. He said he was driving to a friend’s house to bring him some movies to watch because his friend’s wife had left him and the friend’s cable had been disconnected.
Stone was driving drunk the evening of Jan. 30, 2015, when his Jeep Cherokee struck Cormier as the victim walked with two friends along Camden Street near Pizza Hut in Rockland. Cormier was declared dead upon arrival at the local hospital. The friends were not injured.
Cormier was walking in the travel lane of the street because of snow on the shoulder of the roadway and was walking with dark clothing with his back to traffic, according to police. Cormier died shortly after being taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
Stone was arrested at a Rockland residence shortly after the crash.
Officers were led to Stone by his ex-wife, who went to the crash site and told police that her husband had called her to say he had messed up and believed he had hit someone. When officers went to a residence in Rockland to speak to Stone, he 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, since he had illegally attached false registration plates on his vehicle.
Stone told police that he had consumed three drinks of rum and ginger ale before leaving his residence and that he regularly takes Suboxone and Klonopin, which he is prescribed, according to an affidavit filed by police in court. He also told police, however, that on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most drunk, he believes he was at about a three.
A blood alcohol test taken of Stone later that evening found his level at 0.09. A person is considered under the influence when the blood alcohol level is at or higher than 0.08.
Stone allegedly told the officer that he had nothing to drink after the crash.
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau, who argued for the three years, said that the 0.09 blood alcohol level would have been higher if Stone had stayed at the scene and been tested immediately rather than two hours later.
Rushlau said if not for Stone’s ex-wife telling police of Stone’s involvement, the death of Cormier could have gone unsolved.
Defense attorney Jonathan Handelman said Stone made a colossal, catastrophic miscalculation in driving that night after having three drinks between noon and 5 p.m. The attorney offered examples of other sentences imposed in Maine for vehicular manslaughter cases in which the sentences were less than three years.
Stone also pleaded guilty to violating a condition of release for testing positive for drugs while he was free on bail.