Jay man pleads not guilty to federal meth charges

Brian R. Holmes Franklin County Detention Center photo

FARMINGTON — A Jay man pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug charges in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Brian R. Holmes, 39, was indicted on one count of felony conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances between January and August 2018.

Other defendants’ names were redacted from the document.

The charges against Holmes are related to his having conspired with others to distribute 50 or more grams of methamphetamine and 500 or more grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine, according to federal court documents.

Holmes is also charged with having used a telephone in drug activity, according to documents. He faces five counts of unlawful use of a communication facility.

A conviction on the conspiracy to distribute charge is punishable by a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years to life in prison and up to a $10 million fine. A conviction for criminal use of a communications facility carries up to four years in prison and/or a maximum fine of $250,000.

The allegations triggered enhanced mandatory minimum penalties because Holmes has a prior felony drug trafficking conviction in Caribou.

Holmes was one of three people from Easton arrested and charged by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency on Feb. 1, 2012, with trafficking in methamphetamine, according to newspaper reports.

The court Monday appointed lawyer Matthew Erickson of Norumbega Law Office in Brewer to represent Holmes.