A Jay man pleaded guilty on Monday in the U.S. District Court in Bangor to distributing narcotics and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon after he sold contraband to a confidential informant (CI) working with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine announced on Monday.
In February, Thomas Ray Cook, 44, of Jay sold a CI $600 worth of cocaine from his home, the court docket shows.
In March, the informant returned and bought additional cocaine along with seven firearms for just $1,600. The second transaction was carried out from a Farmington residence rather than from Cook’s home.
Because of previous felony convictions, including aggravated operating of a vehicle after a habitual offender license revocation and eluding an officer, Cook was not legally allowed to possess a firearm, much less to sell them out of a residential address.
For the drug charge, Cook faces up to 20 years in prison, $1 million in fines, and a lifetime of supervised release, while the firearm charge carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine.
The federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) bureau assisted the MDEA in the investigation.
