AUGUSTA — A Gardiner man was ordered to serve an initial year behind bars for unlawful trafficking in heroin and cocaine that occurred two years ago in Augusta.

Edwin Lazarus Lawrence, 25, also known as Eli, who had an address in Manhattan, New York, when he was indicted on those charges, had pleaded guilty Jan. 9 at the Capital Judicial Center to the two drug-trafficking charges. He also had pleaded guilty to an additional charge of refusing to submit to arrest or detention based on an incident that occurred March 7, 2017, also in Augusta.

In exchange for those pleas, other drug trafficking charges were dismissed. He was sentenced Thursday during a brief hearing in the same court and he agreed to forfeit $688 that had been seized from him in March. The drug charges were filed July 14, 2016.

Judge Eric Walker suspended the remainder of the five-year sentence while Lawrence spends two years on probation and fined him $400.

Assistant Attorney General Katie Sibley listed conditions of Lawrence’s probation, which prohibit him from using illegal drugs and from associating with anyone on probation without the permission of his probation officer.

Lawrence’s attorney, Kevin Sullivan, told the judge that Lawrence is scheduled to be back at the Augusta court next month for docket call on other charges.

They stem from an incident Jan. 13, when he was accused of threatening to shoot people in Gardiner. Lawrence is accused of burglary, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and violation of condition of release.

At the time, Gardiner police said he entered a residence and held three people there with what was later determined to be a replica of a gun.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

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