AUGUSTA — The woman behind the wheel in a fatal crash in Monmouth 15 months ago never held a driver’s license.
That’s what the prosecutor told a judge on Monday shortly after Alyssa Danielle Marcellino, 24, of Winthrop, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing a death while her license was suspended or revoked, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh told Justice William Stokes that because of previous convictions for driving without a license, Marcellino had her right to have a driver’s license suspended at the time of the March 6, 2014, crash. The head-on collision on U.S. Route 202 killed Joan L. Fortier, 67, of Mount Vernon, who was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her sister, Gene Potter, also of Mount Vernon. Potter suffered serious injuries and was the victim named in a separate charge of causing serious bodily injury while license suspended or revoked, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Marcellino pleaded guilty to that charge as well as two counts of operating after suspension, one count relating to the crash and a second count relating to a motor vehicle stop March 30, 2014, when Marcellino was pulled over in Sidney.
Marcellino also pleaded guilty to two charges of theft and one of receiving stolen property, all relating to a check-cashing scheme that operated March 19-May 17, 2014, in Augusta and involved a total of $6,415.65.
Stokes accepted her guilty pleas and set a sentencing hearing for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 3 at the Capital Judicial Center. Both Cavanaugh and Marcellino’s defense attorney, Sherry Tash, said they would file sentencing memos before that date.
In exchange for her pleas, the prosecutor dismissed two charges of operating without a license and one of violation of condition of release, also related to the offense in Sidney. Several other charges, including burglary, theft by unauthorized taking, theft by deception, forgery, and receiving stolen property were dismissed.
Marcellino, in a green, short-sleeved jail uniform with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, gave short, clear answers to the judge’s questions on Monday.
She said she understood what she was doing and the rights she was giving up, including the right to a trial. Her cases had been scheduled to go to trial this month.
She remains in jail in lieu of cash bail.
Only three people were in the public area of the courtroom at the Capital Judicial Center when Marcellino entered those pleas.
After handing a picture of the crash scene to the judge, Cavanaugh said Marcellino’s vehicle drifted into the wrong lane, and the vehicle with Potter and Fortier in it went into Marcellino’s lane in an attempt to get around her. Cavanaugh said at that point it appeared Marcellino realized she had swerved from her travel lane and returned to it, resulting in the head-on collision.
Cavanaugh also noted that snowbanks on both sides of the roadway restricted the vehicles’ movements.
It was not clear what caused Marcellino to move from her travel lane originally.
Stokes told Marcellino that while the statutes carry no minimums in terms of jail time, several carry mandatory minimum license suspensions. The charge of causing a death while license suspended or revoked carries a 10-year minimum license suspension. The one involving serious bodily injury carries a five-year minimum mandatory license suspension.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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