BANGOR — A Farmington woman who admitted lying about her drug use while buying a gun in connection with a broader gun-buying conspiracy was sentenced Wednesday in federal court.
U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. sentenced Jessica Turcotte, 45, to the 37 days she has already served in jail awaiting sentencing, plus three years of supervised release.
Turcotte pleaded guilty in August 2022 to a charge of making false statements to federal firearms licensees, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Prosecutors said Turcotte was using crack cocaine during December 2021 when on Dec. 20, she tried to buy a Taurus 9 mm pistol from a Farmington gun dealer and on Dec. 28, a Glock .40-caliber pistol from a Turner gun dealer.
On Dec. 30, 2021, while she was still using crack cocaine, Turcotte succeeded in buying a Glock 9 mm pistol from a Turner gun dealer who was federally licensed like the other dealers from whom she had tried to buy guns earlier that month.
Turcotte had filled out the federal firearms purchase forms each time, falsely certifying as true, correct and complete the section stating “that she was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any controlled substance,” according to court documents.
During Turcotte’s sentencing hearing Wednesday, Judge Woodcock said Turcotte had purchased the gun for Turcotte’s drug dealer, a Lewiston man convicted last year in a gun-buying conspiracy that involved 36 firearms purchased for him from federal firearms dealers throughout central and southern Maine by several of his drug clients.
In November 2023, Woodcock sentenced Abdullahi “T” Issak, 26, to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws.
“As the judge stated at sentencing, this case involves the defendant being driven by her substance use disorder to purchase a firearm for her drug dealer, and that dealer is currently (serving) a 10-year sentence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisa Ross said in a written statement after Wednesday’s hearing.
Abdullahi Issak Androscoggin County Jail photo
“Ms. Turcotte knowingly lied to a federally licensed firearms dealer by providing false statements on the required ATF form to purchase a pistol. She will remain on supervised release for the next three years, the maximum allowable for the offense, and I sincerely hope she uses that time to maintain her sobriety and find stability,” Ross said.
Turcotte’s attorney, Scott Hess, said Wednesday that she had been vulnerable as someone addicted to drugs who had been preyed upon and taken advantage of by her drug dealer.
In a sentencing memorandum in court files, Hess wrote that Turcotte had been able to “obtain and maintain sobriety, even in the face of the tragic death of her 16-year-old son who was killed in a car crash Nov. 18, 2023. She worked hard on self-help, including her mental health. She had periods of gainful employment. She found stability after hitting rock bottom.”
After lapsing in her sobriety several times while on supervised release, Turcotte had completed a drug rehabilitation program in March 2023, but later failed to enter sober housing as directed by her probation officer, where she had been scheduled to participate in substance use disorder treatment.
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