AUGUSTA — A city man who spent more than eight years in federal prison after being convicted of dealing drugs will spend 18 years in state prison for trafficking in drugs again.

Franklin F. Arbour Jr., 39, was sentenced Wednesday at the Capital Judicial Center.

Arbour was ordered to serve an initial 18 years, and the remainder of the 25-year sentence was suspended. Judge Eric Walker ordered Arbour to serve four years of probation once he is released from prison.

The sentencing hearing followed a jury verdict Aug. 25 in the same courthouse.

Arbour was convicted of seven charges, including aggravated trafficking in drugs, unlawful possession of drugs and one count each of unlawful trafficking in drugs and aggravated cultivating of marijuana.

Arbour, who was represented by attorney Luann Calcagni, has appealed the jury verdict and is expected to file an appeal of the sentence as well.

According to the indictment, all the offenses occurred Sept. 17, 2014. That is the day that the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Augusta police raided an apartment on River Street in Augusta.

Arbour’s girlfriend, Angie Sousa, 33, was alone when police arrived, but Arbour arrived during the search and immediately told police to arrest him because all the drugs found there were his, according to an affidavit by Augusta police Lt. Christopher Massey.

The prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Katie Sibley, told jurors that Arbour twice told police that Sousa had nothing to do with it and that all the drugs were his.

Officer Brian Wastella testified at the trial that police seized 1,250 packets of heroin and 23.65 grams of crack cocaine, as well as 114 marijuana plants. He said that once processed, the plants and other processed marijuana taken from the apartment totaled about 25 pounds.

The evidence filled two large cardboard boxes and was shown to jurors.

Other affidavits by police and information at trial indicate that a number of stolen tools along with 12 grams of drugs known as “bath salts” were found at the home.

Calcagni had argued that there was doubt about who owned the drugs and that it could well have been one of the five people who had been smoking crack cocaine and using heroin in the apartment.

Arbour did not testify in his own defense at trial. However, he and several family members addressed the judge at sentencing.

Sousa pleaded guilty in February to felony possession of marijuana, and the disposition of the case was deferred for 12 months.

If she meets the terms of the deferred disposition agreement spelled out in Kennebec County Superior Court, she can retract that felony plea in February 2016 and instead plead guilty to misdemeanor marijuana cultivation and be sentenced to seven days in jail, with credit for seven days served, and fined $500, according to the agreement.

In March 2005, Arbour was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for his part in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Augusta area and for soliciting people to sell him guns that he could trade for drugs in Massachusetts. He was released from federal prison on Dec. 16, 2009, because he had been in custody prior to the sentencing.

Arbour was arrested on the federal charge in December 2002.

Federal court documents also show that in August 2011, Arbour was charged in Lincoln County with aggravated forgery and forgery in connection with the use of a computer to create counterfeit currency and checks. He later pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and was given a 24-month deferred disposition and ordered to pay $4,000 restitution.

In connection with that plea, the documents say, a federal judge approved changing conditions of Arbour’s supervised release to include mental health treatment and ordered him to participate in the federal computer and Internet monitoring program and to do 20 hours of community service.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams