Former Hallowell public works foreman pleads guilty to drunken driving

HALLOWELL — The city’s former public works foreman pleaded guilty to drunken driving Tuesday.

Christopher Buck, 54, will see the criminal operating under the influence charge reduced to a lesser charge of driving to endanger if he complies with the terms of an agreement with state prosecutors, according to his attorney, Darrick Banda.

Christopher Buck Courtesy of Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office

The conditions of that agreement include that within the next six months he not use or possess alcohol, undergo a substance abuse evaluation and perform 50 hours of community service work or make a $500 donation to charity.

If he complies with those terms, he will return to the Capital Judicial Center, where his operating under the influence charge will be dismissed and he will instead plead guilty to driving to endanger. His sentence on that charge would be a $575 fine and a 30-day loss of license.

If he does not comply, his guilty plea to the operating under the influence charge would stand and he would be sentenced to up to the maximum time in jail allowed under state statute, according to Tracy DeVoll, an assistant district attorney.

In Maine a first offense for operating under the influence can result in a sentence of up to a year in jail, a maximum fine of $2,000 and a mandatory minimum loss of license for 150 days.

Buck was arrested shortly after 10 a.m. July 3, 2022, at the city’s public works garage parking lot on Water Street. He was driving his personal vehicle at the time, police said.

At the time of his arrest the city’s then-police-chief, Scott MacMaster, said Buck’s blood-alcohol content was .26, which is more than three times the state’s legal limit of .08.

Buck resigned from the foreman’s job, which he held for about a decade, Oct. 19, 2022.

As public works foreman, Buck was one of four employees in the department. He reported to City Manager Gary Lamb, who is also Hallowell’s road commissioner and director of the city’s public works department.