PARIS — Two Mexico men indicted in April on drug trafficking charges stemming from undercover cocaine sales plead guilty to lesser charges in Oxford County Superior Court Tuesday.

Daniel Allen, 55, of Swett Street and Darren Joudrey, 51, of Roxbury Road, were arrested with two other men in January after a yearlong investigation into cocaine trafficking in the Mexico area by local and state law enforcement. 

Allen plead guilty to unlawful furnishing of a scheduled drug, a Class C felony, and was granted a yearlong deferred disposition by the court. If he fulfills the requirements of the deferred disposition, Allen will avoid jail time, but he will be required to pay a $1,000 fine. 

Allen was originally indicted on three counts of aggravated drug trafficking, a Class A felony, each of which carries with it the possibility of heavy jail sentences and fines. 

Joudrey, who was indicted on two counts of trafficking scheduled drugs, a Class B offense, also plead guilty to unlawful furnishing, a Class C crime, and was similarly granted a yearlong deferred disposition.

If Joudrey fulfills the terms of the agreement, he will be able to withdraw his plea and plead guilty to unlawful furnishing, a Class D misdemeanor, and pay a $1,000 fine. 

Maine Assistant Attorney General David Fisher said in court Tuesday that the two men were arrested after Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agents and Rumford police arranged to make controlled purchases of cocaine from Joudrey, suspecting that the source of the drugs was Allen. 

In one such purchase, Fisher said, agents heard a conversation “consistent” with the sale of cocaine through a wire placed on the clandestine buyer.

Agents observed Joudrey as he traveled from his home to Allen’s residence, then returned to sell the informant three grams of cocaine, valued at more than $250, he said. 

Speaking from his office Tuesday afternoon, Fisher said the buy was one of several made by agents that resulted in the charges against the two men.

“People who were cooperating with us went to an individual,” Fisher said. “In two instances, it was Joudrey, who we believed then went to Allen for the drugs.”

Joudrey’s charges were reduced due to an absence of prior convictions and his apparently small role in the drug deals, Fisher said. 

“He was the runner,” Fisher said. “He wasn’t the dealer.”  

The unreliability of the informant who made the controlled purchases also made it unlikely that the state would be able to get a conviction in the case, Fisher said.

In interviews with the individual, Fisher found he had a “very poor recollection” of what happened and would not be able to testify against Joudrey, even though he was wearing a wire, he said. 

A conviction against Allen would have been equally difficult, Fisher said, explaining that while Joudrey was observed coming and going from Allen’s house before selling the cocaine, there were no witnesses who could testify to seeing an exchange between the two men. 

“We had no way to say beyond a reasonable doubt that Allen was the supplier of the cocaine that Joudrey ultimately gave to our cooperating individual,” Fisher said.

He noted that Allen was convicted of a felony and was subject to random searches by law enforcement. If he or Joudrey violate their deferred disposition agreements, they could be sentenced to prison terms.

Fisher still has ongoing cases against Dana Lee Richardson, 54, and Wayne G. Sinclair, 53, both of Mexico, who were arrested in the same sweep as Allen and Joudrey and also face drug trafficking charges. 

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