Lincoln Resident Sentenced to 1½ Years on Firearms Charge

Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Bruce Smith, 60 of Lincoln, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 1½ years in prison and three years of supervised release for possessing firearms while being an unlawful user of controlled substances.  Smith pled guilty on August 7, 2015.

According to court records, between January and April 2014, the defendant possessed seven firearms at a time when he was regularly using Alpha-PVP.  Alpha-PVP is a schedule I controlled substance and is among a group of illegal, street drugs commonly referred to as bath salts.  Two of the firearms were seized on March 9, 2014 following a traffic stop and Smith’s arrest by the Lincoln Police Department.  Two more were seized on March 11, 2014 in Bradford, Maine and traced back to Smith. Smith possessed three more on April 8, 2014 when he was questioned by federal agents.  Smith was a regular user of bath salts during this period of time and had pawned two of the firearms for Alpha-pvp in January 2014.
     
The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Lincoln Police Department.