Staff Writer
BANGOR — U.S. District Judge John Woodcock has ordered a Fort Fairfield woman to report to prison on Jan. 24, 2011, after she was sentenced on Dec. 7 to six months in federal prison for smuggling oxycodone pills across the border last year.
At the sentencing in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Corinna Sawyer, 39, was given three years’ of supervised release and ordered to pay a fine of $500. She had been free on $5,000 unsecured bail since May, when she waived indictment and pleaded guilty to importation of a controlled substance.
The case took more than a year to bring to a close. Sawyer’s arrest came following a stop at the Fort Fairfield port of entry on May 6, 2009. Agents of the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houlton had been tipped off by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that they’d received information about Sawyer and possible illegal activity.
Sawyer was taken to Cary Medical Center in Caribou after she reportedly showed signs of medical distress consistent with prescription drug withdrawal. She allegedly told hospital personnel that she was addicted to the painkiller oxycodone and had illegally obtained pills because her doctor had refused to provide her with another prescription.
A female Customs and Border Protection agent accompanied Sawyer to the bathroom, at which time the officer was successful in retrieving the evidence before Sawyer was able to get rid of it. As a result, the officer took possession of a plastic bag containing 58 80-milligram oxycodone pills.
Sawyer reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that greatly reduced the amount of time she could have spent behind bars. She agreed not to appeal her sentence as long as she was not incarcerated for more than 18 months. Sawyer could have been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison with a fine up to $1 million.
