Daniel R. Asselin This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Another round of court, anguish

   www.sunjournal.com/news/city/2 - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/18/2004   Last Visited: 8/19/2004

   Sun Journal file photo INDICTED: Daniel Asselin sits in court during his 1997 sentencing for manslaughter in the death of Mark Blanchette.
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   Asselin was recently indicted in Bangor by a grand jury on charges of criminal drunk driving and driving with a suspended license.
   
   LEWISTON - A man who served prison time for a drunken-driving crash that killed a Lewiston teenager eight years ago has been charged again in Bangor.
   
   Daniel R. Asselin, 36, was indicted by a grand jury this month on charges of criminal drunken driving and driving with a suspended license.
   
   Asselin was driving with a blood-alcohol level of .21 in 1996 when his Ford Taurus ran over 18-year-old Mark Blanchette, according to court records.
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   Asselin himself wept as he apologized to Blanchette's family and acknowledged he shouldn't have been driving at the time.
   
   In May of this year, Bangor police stopped Asselin on Hammond Street in that city and charged him with drunken driving. His blood-alcohol level was later measured at .29, police said.
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   On Aug. 13, 1996, Asselin was driving the car on Webster Street when it struck Blanchette near the industrial park.
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   Asselin had been forbidden to drive for more than nine years before the 1996 incident because of many convictions for traffic violations, except for 27 days in 1992 when his license had been restored. The violations included speeding, driving while intoxicated, driving without a license and failure to appear in court.
   
   A reconstruction of the crash scene showed that Asselin was driving approximately 48 mph in a 30-mph zone when his pickup truck struck Blanchette.
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   Immediately after the wreck, Asselin was charged with driving as a habitual offender and lying to police about his identity. However, he was released from jail on bail and could not be found for several days before he was charged with manslaughter.
   
   The charge was later reduced to aggravated drunken driving, and Asselin was sentenced to four years in prison.
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   Asselin himself spoke at the sentencing and wept as he apologized to Blanchette's friends and family, who crowded into the courtroom.
   
   "It was an accident," Asselin said before he was sent to prison.
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   Police said Asselin reeked of booze and failed field sobriety tests after he was stopped. He was later given a breath test which showed a blood-alcohol level of .29, nearly four times the legal limit for driving in Maine after drinking liquor.
   
   Police also said Asselin was unable to show them a driver's license when he was stopped, although he insisted he had one. Police learned while at the scene of the stop that Asselin is prohibited from driving because of the conviction stemming from Blanchette's death.
   
   A Penobscot County grand jury indicted Asselin on Aug. 3 on charges of driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license.
   
   Tuesday marked the eighth anniversary of Blanchette's funeral. When he was killed, the teen was a sports clerk and freelance writer at the Sun Journal. Blanchette's former co-workers and loved ones reacted Wednesday after hearing about Asselin's latest arrest.
   
   "Dan Asselin's drunk driving killed one of my best friends, and to see that he's out there again, perpetrating the same crime, makes me sick," said Josh Shea, a 28-year-old journalist from Portland who used to work with Blanchette.
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   If convicted, Asselin could face a lengthy time behind bars. Debbie Blanchette on Tuesday was not confident the sentence will be stiff enough if Asselin is convicted.