BANGOR – A Bangor man who struck and fatally injured a Lewiston teen nine years ago was sentenced Friday in Penobscot County Superior Court to four years in prison with all but 2½ years suspended for driving after his license had been revoked.
Daniel Asselin, 38, also was sentenced to three years of probation and a year in jail for operating while under the influence of alcohol, along with six months for a probation violation. In addition, he was ordered to a pay a $1,000 fine on the OUI charge.
Superior Court Justice Kirk Studstrup ordered that he serve the sentences concurrently and granted Asselin a stay to deal with pending medical problems.
He is to report to prison on Jan. 20.
Asselin pleaded guilty in July to the charges. He faced a maximum sentence of six years, one year on the drunken driving charge and five years for operating after revocation.
Asselin was pulled over in May 2004 after he allegedly squealed his tires on Hammond Street in Bangor and drifted over the centerline. Police said Asselin smelled of alcohol and failed field sobriety tests.
A breath test administered later showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.29 percent, nearly four times the legal limit.
In 1996, Asselin was driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent when he struck and fatally injured Mark Blanchette, 18, of Lewiston, on Webster Street in Lewiston. Blanchette died of his injuries the next day.
Asselin later was charged with manslaughter in that case, but a grand jury refused to indict him on that charge. Instead, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated drunken driving and served four years in prison.
He had been forbidden to drive for more than nine years before the 1996 accident because of numerous previous convictions, including driving while intoxicated, driving without a license, speeding, and failure to appear in court.
Blanchette’s uncle, Daniel “Nick” Knowlton, 53, of Lewiston, didn’t attend the sentencing Friday, but attended the hearing in July when Asselin pleaded guilty. He expressed frustration with the legal system after that hearing when the case was continued for sentencing.
“Our family is just devastated,” Knowlton said then. “This continuation is just another stalling tactic. … Our hurt is still being revictimized. If he were a man, he’d admit his guilt and serve his time.
“He has had the opportunity to correct his behavior,” Knowlton said. “Obviously, he hasn’t learned anything.”
Asselin’s case in Penobscot County has taken several twists and turns.
He pleaded guilty to the charges in April, but later withdrew his pleas when a judge rejected the state’s sentencing recommendation, which called for Asselin to be sentenced to five years in prison with all but two suspended. Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm rejected that agreement, saying it was too lenient.
The case was delayed again last month when Superior Court Justice Andrew Mead allowed the defendant’s previous attorney to withdraw from the case.
The new plea agreement reflects Hjelm’s opinion that Asselin should serve four years because of his record, Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Larson said in July when Asselin changed his plea.
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