AUGUSTA – Saying he’s worried that Maine’s most infamous bad driver will get out of jail and illegally drive again, placing residents at risk, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, criticized bail conditions set Monday for Scott Hewitt.
Hewitt’s bail was set at $100,000 cash or $500,000 surety bond after he pleaded innocent to nine misdemeanor charges. The charges stem from a July 29 fatal crash in which his tractor-trailer ran over and crushed a car on the Maine Turnpike. The driver of that car, Tina Turcotte, 40, died. At the time of the crash Hewitt, 32, of Caribou, was driving without a license and with a record of 23 license suspensions and 63 driving convictions.
Diamond, who plans to introduce tougher laws to punish those who drive chronically drive after their license is suspended, was in the courtroom when bail conditions were set.
“I nearly fell out of my seat when I heard a surety bond could be used,” Diamond said Tuesday. The $500,000 bond would be easier to achieve than cash, Diamond explained, adding that all that would take is three or four supporters to post their real estate for bail.
And Diamond is worried that on Oct. 7, the bail conditions will be lowered when the $500,000 bond will be appealed.
That could mean Hewitt would get out of jail. “I don’t want to see him out,” Diamond said, calling the bail conditions “a slippery slope.”
“With this guy’s record, he’ll be driving whether he has a license or not. The public would not be well served,” Diamond said. With a trial date of Dec. 23, that would be too long a time to have Hewitt potentially on the road, he added.
The district attorney prosecuting Hewitt said Tuesday that he understands Diamond’s concerns. But he isn’t worried that Hewitt will be getting out on bail. Hewitt is scheduled to be transferred from Cumberland County Jail to Kennebec County Jail today.
“It’s highly unlikely that Scott Hewitt will raise the $500,000 surety bail,” said Kennebec and Somerset counties District Attorney Everet Fowle. If Hewitt were able to post the surety bail, it would be unlikely the defense would be asking to lower the bail, Fowle said.
The bail conditions set by the court are just right, Fowle said. “We don’t make bail recommendations for the purpose of keeping people in jail. They’re based on the nature of the charges and a person’s prior history.”
Fowle agrees with Diamond that the bail conditions should not be eased. Fowle said he will vigorously defend existing bail conditions at the Oct. 7 bail review hearing.
He also understands Diamond’s worry that when Hewitt gets out of jail, he’ll illegally drive again. “The best indication of future behavior is past behavior,” Fowle said. “Sen. Diamond is entirely justified for having that concern.” That’s why, Fowle said, he has made recommendations to Diamond on ways the laws could be toughened.
Efforts to reach Hewitt’s attorney, Joel Vincent, were not successful Tuesday.
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