By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

Scott Hewitt, 32, appeared in court Monday and denied a charge of driving without a license, said Aroostook County Assistant District Attorney Carrie Linthicum.

When arrested Saturday, Hewitt cried and told the arresting officer he would not drive again, state police said Monday.

As of 4 p.m. Monday, Hewitt was still at the Aroostook County Jail, but was expected to be released on bail. “The jail just called,” Linthicum said. “Apparently they’re going to put up his house.” Bail was set at $2,500 cash or $10,000 in property, Linthicum said. Judge Bernard O’Mara prohibited him from driving as a condition of his release, Linthicum said.

Hewitt is the Caribou truck driver who had been charged on July 29 with driving without a license when his rig crashed into a sedan driven by 40-year-old Tina Turcotte, who died several days after the Maine Turnpike accident.

In court Monday, Hewitt pleaded innocent to three other charges: operating an unregistered motor vehicle, illegal attachment of plates and violating bail conditions. During the hearing Hewitt said nothing. His lawyer, Alan Harding of Presque Isle, did not explain why Hewitt was pleading not guilty, Linthicum said. That is not necessary at the first appearance, the prosecutor said.

Efforts to reach Hewitt or his attorney were unsuccessful Monday.

When Hewitt is released from jail, “he’ll be watched,” Caribou acting Police Chief Michael Gahagan said Monday.

With Hewitt so well known, the Caribou chief compared him to someone who’d stick out behind a wheel as much “as someone with a great big nose.”

The public will call police if he’s seen driving, predicted Aroostook County District Attorney Neale Adams.

When the arresting officer pulled Hewitt over Saturday, Hewitt told the officer he was driving his pickup because he had to meet with his lawyer. “He became emotional” and began crying, Maine State Police Sgt. David McPherson said. “He said he would not drive again.”

Hewitt made similar comments during a tearful interview last week with a newspaper reporter.

The Caribou chief said he was shocked Hewitt was driving again. “As my grandson said, ‘Duh.’ You would think he’d at least give it a week.”

McPherson was not shocked.

“This is very routine. Many people thumb their nose at the system,” he said. “It’s not uncommon for us to be looking for people who are operating after suspension. We get a lot of complaints.” McPherson was acting on a tip that Hewitt was driving from “a gentleman who voiced concern.”

Hewitt’s trial was set for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 14. He has 21 days to ask for a jury trial, Linthicum said. There were plenty of media covering the hearing, she said. Only one camera was allowed in the courtroom.

The July 29 crash is the second fatality Hewitt has been involved with. The other was in 1994 when a load of junk cars on a truck he was driving tipped and fell on a vehicle, setting the car on fire and killing a man. The July 29 fatal crash and Hewitt’s record of 42 driving violations and 19 suspensions has prompted officials to call for action.

Baldacci asked Maine State Police Chief Craig Poulin, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap and Transportation Commissioner David Cole to explore what can be done about chronic operating-after-suspension drivers. That working group will meet for the first time today at the Maine Department of Public Safety.