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Press Release
Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Christopher A. Hutchinson, 30, of Cushing, Maine pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to two counts of Seaman’s Manslaughter for causing two deaths at sea.
According to court records, on November 1, 2014, after smoking marijuana and drinking, Hutchinson took his lobster boat, No Limits, out into a predicted storm with two crewmen aboard. After he had ingested oxycodone, the boat capsized. The two crewmen were not wearing personal floatation devices or survival suits. The No Limits’ Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon alerted at about 1:20 p.m. The Coast Guard rescued Hutchinson at about 4 p.m. At the time, he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. The Coast Guard located the bow of No Limits at about 5 p.m. The bodies of the crewmen have never been recovered.
The defendant faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on each count. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A plea agreement provides that a sentence of four years in prison and three years of supervised release is appropriate and that the defendant may withdraw his guilty plea if the court rejects that sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Halsey B. Frank
United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257