JAIL TIME IN METHADONE DEATH

A Belgrade man will serve two years behind bars for supplying the
methadone that killed an Augusta woman a year and a half ago.

Thomas D. Eaton, 21, had pleaded guilty in March to aggravated
furnishing of methadone in connection with the death of Lisa Bickford
of Augusta on March 3, 2004.

He was sentenced Tuesday by Justice Joseph Jabar in Somerset County
Superior Court to six years in prison, with all but two years
suspended, then four years of probation.

Bickford, originally of Weeks Mills, was 21 when she was found dead
in her home.

Eaton at one point attempted to withdraw his guilty plea, but later
switched attorneys and dropped that effort. At the hearing Tuesday,
Eaton was represented by Tom Goodwin.

In court, Eaton told the judge he lives with the memory of Bickford every day.

Assistant Attorney General James Cameron said Eaton had a misdemeanor
criminal record unrelated to drugs.

Cameron said Eaton admitted giving Bickford his methadone.

He said he gave it to her at her request because she told him she was
going through withdrawal, Cameron said.

Methadone is a legal, synthetic narcotic meant to help heroin addicts
control their cravings until they can be weaned from the drug.

"Methadone is a very effective treatment for opiate addiction.
However, it is a very dangerous drug when it is used by people who
are not following doctor's orders," Cameron said. "It is people who
divert their prescribed methadone who give a bad name to all
methadone treatment, and that's a terrible thing, because methadone
does help many people provide normal lives."

Court records show Eaton faces a burglary charge stemming from an
incident June 20 in Belgrade in which he is accused of stealing items
from the home of a family member.

He has been jailed since spring.

Bickford's death and two others that occurred in Augusta around the
same time triggered an investigation by police into the possibility
that a new, purer form of heroin had arrived in the area.