BANGOR, Maine — A man known as one of the “fathers” of the bath salts epidemic in the Queen City and coastal Maine in 2011 was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison on drug and gun charges.
Ryan Ellis, 37, formerly of Greenbush and Dover-Foxcroft, also was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
He was the last of 14 people indicted three years ago in connection with the bath salts distribution ring to be sentenced.
Ellis, who has been incarcerated since his arrest in December 2011, apologized for the impact his actions have had on the community, other members of the conspiracy and bath salts addicts. While awaiting sentencing, Ellis earned college credit through a program run by Kennebec Valley Community College.
“I have seen people in prison hold on to that [drug] life,” he said. “It breaks my heart that I was a part of it. I will do anything I can to help others. I will return to my family, get a job and take care of my son.”
U.S. District Judge John Woodcock found Ellis responsible for distributing more than 94,500 doses of the drug MDPV, a chemical compound commonly referred to as bath salts, that is known to cause paranoia, convulsions and psychotic behavior in users.
“That is nearly three doses for every man, woman and child in Bangor,” Woodcock said in imposing the sentence. “Everybody in this town lived through the catastrophic impact of bath salts in this community.”
He called the bath salts distribution ring “the Ryan Ellis conspiracy.”
“It was astonishingly broad and virulent,” Woodcock said Tuesday.
The judge, a native of Bangor, said the epidemic “tore down” the sense of community that existed when he was growing up.
Ellis pleaded guilty in May 2015 to one count each of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute MDPV, and to possession of firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
The ringleader of the bath salts distribution ring was one of 14 people indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2013 in connection with a conspiracy to distribute bath salts in Greater Bangor, Caribou and Knox County, according to court documents.
In recommending that Ellis spend 18 years behind bars, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Casey quoted a 1988 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals decision in a drug case.
“‘Except in rare cases, the murderer’s red hand falls on one victim only, however grim the blow; but the foul hand of the drug dealer blights life after life and, like the vampire of fable, creates others in its owner’s evil image — others who create others still, across our land and down our generations, sparing not even the unborn,’” Casey said.
Defense attorney Matthew Erickson of Brewer urged the judge to send Ellis to federal prison for a dozen years.
In exchange for his guilty plea, Casey on Tuesday dropped two charges, using or maintaining a drug-involved residence and unlawful use of a controlled substance. Ellis faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million on the drug conspiracy charge. Ellis also faced a mandatory minimum sentence of five years to be served consecutively to the drug sentence, and a fine of up to $250,000 on the gun charge.
Two other members of the conspiracy were sentenced by Woodcock on Monday. Jacob Gagnon, 26, of Van Buren and Bangor was sentenced Monday morning to six years and three months to be followed by three years of supervised release. Alan Ketchen, 43, of Bangor was sentenced Monday afternoon to 13 years and four months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
Eleven others involved in the drug ring previously were sentenced, receiving penalties varying from time served to 8½ years.