Weed & Seed Program
When Doreen heard the police were looking for her, only one thing went through her mind: “I’ve got to hide these drugs.” She stashed the bag of crack cocaine she was trying to sell at a campground where she was vacationing. She still believed she could never get caught, even when she heard the police were seeking to arrest her. She still believed she had her habit under control.
But it was too late. She had been under surveillance for weeks, and that early September night was the culmination of a sting operation by the Lincoln County Drug Task Force. She was arrested a few days later, out of sight of her children, for selling crack cocaine and drug possession. She was brought to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department for questioning.
As she sat in the grey-walled room listening to Lincoln County Sheriff Detective Sergeant Ken Hatch, she was stiff with fear, realizing that she had been conning herself for 11 months. She had been tempting fate, thinking that she was hurting no one because she had only used drugs when her children were visiting their father over the weekends. But the con was over and now her family was at stake.
What she didn’t know was that it was a night for second chances.
Although the goal of Det. Hatch’s work with the Lincoln County Drug Task Force was to arrest and prosecute drug offenders, he also knew that helping people find a path to recovery was just as important in the county’s combat against the sale and use of illicit drugs. The multi-jurisdictional drug task force was formed in 2002 by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and with the help of a U.S. Department of Justice “Weed & Seed” grant, which was fiscally managed by Volunteers of America Northern New England. The collaboration started with four municipal police departments, the county sheriff’s department, the Maine State Police and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. Now the task force involves numerous municipal police departments, including a few from adjacent Knox County and several federal and state agencies.
Though Doreen was ragged and showing the early physical signs of drug abuse, she was not gaunt and thin nor aged beyond her years like the many faces he had seen on people who had succumbed to substance abuse during his time working as a drug task force agent in Lincoln County, where the rate of substance abuse is among the highest in Maine.
He could tell that Doreen was different. She had no prior arrests — nothing on her driving record but one speeding ticket. She also had been a respected role model to youth as a martial arts instructor in the coastal community where she lives.
“Doreen, you don’t belong here,” Det. Hatch said. “My suspicion is that you got caught up in this drug problem and you’re just lost right now.”
Doreen hung her head. “I am,” she said, expecting the detective to tell her that she would be sent to jail and lose custody of her children, never able to see them again. She expected the worst. But what he said next surprised her.
“I see a lot of hope for you,” Det. Hatch said. “Let’s help you find a way out of it.”
Though it was difficult for Doreen to see any hope in her situation, she listened intently to what Det. Hatch had to say.
Just a year prior to her arrest she had been a busy single mother of three boys — one a young adult and two under the age of 12. She was a dedicated karate teacher, leading classes in martial arts since 1983. She had taught many youth in her community, leading a martial arts class at the local YMCA for awhile and in the early 1990s, she formed her own school. Some of her students were children with disabilities or behavioral issues, and many took her classes to not only learn how to defend themselves, but also how to trust instincts, overcome resistance and learn discipline.
Then she landed a dream job as a caretaker of a $3 million seasonal cottage in the coveted seaside community of Midcoast of Maine, where luxury homes dot the landscape alongside the modest homes of families eking out a living in the fishing or tourism industry. The job was ideal because it paid well, was flexible and allowed her to stay onsite a few days a week while her children spent time with their father.
After an electrical storm wiped out the cottage’s electrical system, she reconnected with an old high school friend who was hired as the electrician to repair the system. He was a crack cocaine user and enticed Doreen to join him. She was curious and decided to give it a try, thinking she couldn’t harm anyone because her children were away with their father.
But the allure of the drug altered her ability to reason well. The cocaine was easy to get and easy to use without her boss or children knowing, because she was sequestered from her community, living outside the world she had known. She quickly became addicted. She thought she was being sneaky, but her children noticed a difference in their mother. She began showing up late for work, letting little things slip by her until a few short months later she was deep into addiction and soon began selling. Soon, she was arrested for possession and selling of crack cocaine.
At Doreen’s first court appearance, Det. Hatch spoke with the district attorney and suggested that the court offer a nine-month disposition to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor if Doreen could show that she could rehabilitate and recover from her addiction. Many of the skills Doreen had taught her martial arts students, like discipline, focus and self-will, were still deep within her despite her bout with addiction
Using Det. Hatch’s offer of a second chance, Doreen dived into her recovery. Within a week of her arrest, she was in a three-month recovery program at the Addiction Resource Center. She joined a women’s group at the local Baptist Church and a 12-step substance abuse program, where she was able to build a solid support network to aid in her recovery.
But the greatest boost to her recovery was the support of her children, particularly her 22-year-old son and Det. Hatch’s continued involvement in her life. Det. Hatch had seen too many lives tragically altered from substance abuse. He had watched addiction destroy families, youth struggle with drug use, and many lives tragically cut short because drugs had become the center of their lives. He didn’t want Doreen to become another statistic. He wanted her story to have a happy ending.
So he checked on her often, stopping by her house to see how she was doing or stopping her when he noticed her in town while he was on patrol to see how she was progressing with the recovery process. His spontaneous check-ins kept her accountable.
As a sign of support, her oldest son joined her in her recovery program. “I want to sign up,” he said to his mom. “I want to be with you during this experience.”
After nine months of hard work, Doreen’s court date arrived. She braced herself for a challenging trial, not knowing if her diligence would make the difference to the judge.
She told her court-assigned attorney that Det. Hatch had offered to reduce her charges if she could show that she had recovered.
“It can’t be done,” her attorney said. “The court will never allow it.”
Doreen was crushed. Though all her hard work was still worth the recovery, still she could not accept her attorney’s answer.
“If you could just explain to the judge what was involved in my case, maybe it could happen.”
The attorney was doubtful of Doreen’s suggestion, but did present the case to the judge. After reviewing the case, the judge reduced her charges to a felony misdemeanor. “You’ve worked really hard,” he told Doreen. “I’m really impressed. I am in complete agreement with Detective Hatch’s suggestions. Congratulations on your hard work. It’s not easy to recover from addiction. Keep up the good work and I don’t ever want to see you in my court again.”
“No, sir,” Doreen said. “Thank you, sir.”
But that wasn’t the end of Det. Hatch’s advocacy. He spoke directly with the judge and district attorney following the trial to request a full dismissal of all the charges and the judge granted his request.
“I’ve never seen this happen to anyone before―ever,” Doreen’s attorney said in shock.
Doreen continues to be active in her church and has become a dedicated volunteer in her community. She is currently working on becoming a certified nurse’s assistant and is working with a martial arts school in a nearby town to develop an afterschool martial arts program for school-aged children.
Even though Doreen’s case has been resolved, she stills stops in on occasion to say hello to Det. Hatch, and he still checks in on Doreen.
Weed & Seed Program
The Community Justice Projects of Androscoggin, Lincoln and Sagadahoc Counties are collaborative problem solving efforts funded through the U.S. Department of Justice Community Capacity Development Office Weed & Seed Program. These grants are fiscally managed by Volunteers of America Northern New England.
Our mission statement is: We are local coalitions of law enforcement, community leaders, concerned citizens and social services working together to reduce crime and make our counties safer places to live and work. Our projects support problem solving by encouraging the development of collaborative solutions to local problems.
