Two people accused of supplying fentanyl and needles to a man who injected the drug and died several days later have reached agreements to plead guilty to a federal drug charge, according to documents in U.S. District Court in Portland.
Earl Cormier, 39, of Biddeford, is scheduled to plead guilty Thursday morning to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, while Suzanne Cormier, 37, of Sanford, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea to the same charge next Wednesday, according to the court documents. The plea agreements, signed by the defendants, state that the federal government will move to dismiss a count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
Earl Cormier and Suzanne Cormier each could have faced a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine, but they waived their right to appeal their guilty pleas and any sentence that does not exceed 15 years, according to the plea agreements. Both are in federal custody.
The victim, who was not identified, died in a hospital on July 19, 2017. He never regained consciousness after injecting the drug in the restroom of a Biddeford department store on July 8, 2017.
If the case went to trial, the government would prove that the victim contacted Earl Cormier by telephone on July 8, 2017, to order narcotics, Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Joyce said.
“Defendant Suzanne Cormier obtained a substance containing fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl from Supplier A,” Joyce wrote in a court filing. “This substance was intended for distribution to (the victim). Once Suzanne Cormier procured the narcotics, Earl Cormier and Suzanne Cormier traveled together (in a vehicle registered to the supplier), to the Biddeford Walmart to complete the transaction.”
Earl Cormier provided the narcotics and needles, and was paid in cash by the victim, the documents state. Following the transaction, Suzanne Cormier gave a portion of the proceeds to the unnamed supplier.
The prosecution document says the victim entered a restroom in the store, used the narcotics and was then found unconscious. He was taken to a hospital and remained there until he died on July 19. Toxicology tests showed the presence of fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl, and medical personnel concluded he died from the combined effects of the drugs.
Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or at:
twells@journaltribune.com
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