Assistant DA pleads guilty to drunken driving

Posted Sept. 15, 2009, at 12:40 p.m.
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BELFAST, Maine — Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Brendan Trainor pleaded guilty to drunken driving in 5th District Court on Tuesday and received a three-day jail sentence to an alternative program.

Trainor, who was represented by Bangor attorney Marvin Glazier, replied “plead guilty” when Judge Patricia Worth asked him how he intended to respond to the charge.

Worth then sentenced Trainor to 72 hours in jail reduced to 48 hours to be served at the Sagadahoc County Alternative Sentencing Program, a $550 fine and 90-day loss of license. The alternative program will begin Oct. 9.

To enable Trainor to drive home to Hampden, Judge Worth stayed the suspension of his license until noon.

The sentence was worked out in advance under a plea agreement, Waldo County Deputy District Attorney Eric Walker informed the court. The alternative program allows first-time offenders to serve their time over the weekend at schools or armories where they perform public service work and attend talks on alcohol abuse and driving while under the influence.

“He was technically sentenced to three days but it can be satisfied with two days in the alternative program, where participants receive one day credit for two days in the program,” Walker said later. “What I want to stress is that he was treated like anyone else. He didn’t get anything more or anything less than an ordinary citizen would receive.”

Trainor, 33, of Hampden was arrested on a charge of operating while under the influence of intoxicants at 1:45 a.m. Aug. 27 by Hampden police and booked at the Penobscot County Jail. His blood alcohol level at the time of his arrest was 0.21, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Under state sentencing guidelines a first-time offender with a blood alcohol limit of 0.14 or higher must serve a minimum of 48 hours in jail or an alternative program, $500 fine and 90-day suspension.

Trainor has worked for the district attorney’s office for three years and had no prior criminal history. Penobscot County District Attorney Christopher Almy said Tuesday that Trainor was suspended without pay on Sept. 8 and will remain suspended without pay until Oct. 6, at which time he will return back to work.

The case was transferred from Penobscot County to 5th District Court in Belfast to avoid any possible conflict of interest.

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