WISCASSET — A Kennebec County man charged with vehicular manslaughter and other charges in connection with a fatal crash that killed a Connecticut woman in June 2017 has pleaded guilty in court in Lincoln County.

On Monday, Patrick Shorey, 26, appeared before Justice Daniel Billings to make his plea. His sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m., on May 28.

As part of the plea deal, Shorey could serve 10 years, with all but four years suspended and an additional four years of probation that would be accompanied by a list of restrictions.

“I have an open mind on sentencing,” Billings said. “It could be four years, but it could be less.”

Most likely, the term would be served in prison rather than a jail, Billings said. And if Shorey were to violate the terms of his probation, he would serve more time.

Shorey was arrested in September 2018 on charges stemming from the crash at a Waterville residence by detectives from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Waterville Police Department.

Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Gerety recounted the evidence that could have been presented, had Shorey gone to trial.

At 9:22 a.m., on June 6, 2017, the sedan driven by Shorey crossed the centerline of Route 27 in Dresden not far from the Wiscasset town line and struck the station wagon driven by Carolyn Blouin, of Rockville, Connecticut head on.

At that time, Shorey didn’t have a driver’s license.

Blouin, 75, died at the scene, after suffering blunt-force trauma.

Gerety said the accident reconstruction shows that Shorey was driving 69 mph, 14 miles over the limit. Blouin was driving 26 mph, as she tried to avoid the crash by swerving right but was boxed in by the guardrail.

Investigators found no indication that Shorey attempted to slow down.

Blouin’s husband Charles, then 81, suffered a broken arm, broken ribs, a broken hip and a broken leg, Gerety said.

Following the crash, Shorey was found to have both methamphetamine and the active components of THC in his blood.

A pharmacologist would have testified that the amount of methamphetamine found in Shorey’s blood was consistent with abuse and not therapeutic use, and that with the combination of marijuana and methamphetamine present, his ability to drive a car was impaired.

In the hospital, a metal box that had been in Shorey’s sock was recovered and was later found to contain methamphetamine.

A search warrant resulted in evidence that showed that in the moments before the crash, Shorey had been in a Facebook Messenger conversation, and throughout the night before the crash, he had been online for hours.

Gerety said first responders reported that Shorey was seen grasping a cellphone after the crash.

A Lincoln County Grand Jury indicted Shorey in September 2018 on charges of manslaughter, operating under the influence resulting in death, operating under the influence resulting in injury, aggravated driving to endanger, unlawful possession of a scheduled drug, and operating a vehicle without a license.

In a separate matter, Shorey was sentenced three years in prison, with all but six months suspended, and a year of probation at the Capital Judicial Center on a charge of unlawful operation of a methamphetamine lab after pleading guilty to that charge in September 2018. Two other charges, for trafficking and child endangerment, were dropped.

 

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632
jlowell@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @JLowellKJ

 

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