BANGOR, Maine — A Caribou man Monday waived indictment and pleaded guilty in federal court to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
By pleading guilty, Brian Hitchcock, 29, admitted that on May 23, 2014, he lied on an application to buy a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Presque Isle.
He remains free on $5,000 unsecured bail.
A sentencing date has not been set.
Hitchcock said he was buying the pistol for himself when he actually was purchasing it for George D. LaCasse, 36, of Caribou, who was barred from possessing firearms because of a felony conviction in Massachusetts, according to court documents.
LaCasse was sentenced in September 2015 to 35 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He is incarcerated at U.S. Penitentiary Canaan in Waymart, Pennsylvania. LaCasse’s earliest release date is March 15, 2017, according to information posted on the U.S. Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
Surveillance video showed LaCasse giving Hitchcock money in the parking lot at Ben’s Trading Post, according to court documents. Video from inside the store allegedly showed the two men repeatedly handling the gun at a counter and Hitchcock paying for the pistol.
Hitchcock told investigators that LaCasse gave him $520 — $370 to buy the gun and $150 as payment to Hitchcock for purchasing it, court documents said.
LaCasse said that just before going into the store to watch Hitchcock buy the gun, he consumed bath salts in the parking lot.
He was indicted in November 2014 by the Aroostook County grand jury on one count each of robbery, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, possessing a concealed weapon, possessing dangerous knives, violation of conditions of release and two counts of theft, according to Bangor Daily News archives.
Information on the disposition of those charges was not available Tuesday. It also could not be determined whether the gun Hitchcock bought for LaCasse was used in any alleged crimes.
Hitchcock faces up to five years in prison, and LaCasse faced 10 years. Both men’s crimes carried a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Caribou Police Department, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.