Harrison man gets 90 days for hit-and-run death of Paris woman

Sept. 27--LEWISTON -- A Harrison man who struck and killed a 21-year-old Paris woman on Route 117 in Turner last year was sentenced to 90 days in jail, two years of probation and a $1,200 fine in District Court Tuesday morning.

Kevin T. Scribner, 28, of 378 Plains Road, had accepted a plea agreement in July on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury or death and a civil charge of driving a motor vehicle resulting in a death. The jail sentence was on the criminal charge; the fine was on the civil violation.

Facing a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, Scribner was sentenced by the court to two years in jail, with all but 90 days suspended. His license to drive was suspended for a year and he relinquished his license to the court clerk.

Scribner, who was represented by attorney Ted Dilworth, was handcuffed and taken into custody for transport to the Androscoggin County Jail.

As part of the plea agreement, conditions of Scribner's two-year probation include no use or possession of a cellphone capable of texting, no contact with the victim's family and participation for two years in 12 presentations to community groups or forums on the consequences of texting while driving.

In court Tuesday, Judge Richard Mulhern said he considered the community service portion of Scribner's sentence important. "Sometimes good can come from these situations," he said, when drivers talk about their experiences because that might spare another family the same fate as the victim in this case.

"This is a tragedy," Mulhern said, "but the state's recommendation on sentencing is reasonable."

The judge told the family "I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry you had to go through this."

According to police reports, Brittany Stanhope pulled her 2004 Chrysler Sebring onto the shoulder of the road because of a mechanical problem the night of Sept. 19, 2015. She opened a rear door to get her purse and was standing on the side of the road when she was struck and thrown some distance. She died at the scene.

The police report said Scribner was visiting a friend in Turner and told his parents when he arrived home at 9:35 p.m. -- about 45 minutes after the crash -- that he was blinded by oncoming headlights during the trip home and thought he hit a deer.

Scribner told police that it was after reading media reports of the fatal accident the next morning that he decided to contact police and tell them that he drove past Stanhope's car but thought he hit a deer.

However, police wrote in an affidavit that Scribner's parents were the ones who told their son to call police after seeing media reports about the fatal accident "because it was the right thing to do."

Scribner later admitted texting on his cellphone just before the crash. When police asked to see the texts, Scribner told them he erased his messages that morning because he was having problems with his phone.

Scribner was arrested Sept. 30, hours after police matched Stanhope's DNA profile to blood found along the side of Scribner's black 2012 Ford F-250 pickup truck.

The state prosecutor said during Scribner's plea hearing that had the case gone to trial, the prosecution would have presented testimony from Androscoggin County Sheriff's Detective Maurice Drouin's affidavit, along with testimony from Maya Tripp, Stanhope's best friend who was in the vehicle at the time she was struck and killed, and Derek Messenger, who was flagged down by Tripp and made the initial phone call to police.

The state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Patricia Mador.

Before imposing sentence, Mulhern said "this is a difficult case. Nothing we do here will bring back Brittany," but he urged the family to consider his sentence a fair one given Scribner's lack of criminal history and the community service efforts he will make once he is released from jail.

After the hearing was adjourned, Stanhope's mother Victoria Record said she was not satisfied with the sentence. "He could have gotten much more," she said.

Asked what Record would have considered more fair, she said "Life. He killed someone. He should pay for it."

Record's elementary school-age daughters, Bridgette and Makayla both attended Tuesday's hearing and hugged their mother as she talked about Scribner's sentence. During the hearing, Makayla clapped when Mulhern announced his sentencing decision.

Family members declined an opportunity to make statements to the court. After the sentencing, Victoria Record said she tried to make a statement during the July plea hearing but couldn't finish and had to run out of the court crying. "I just didn't think I could do it again," she said.

Stanhope's father, Christian Stanhope, attended the hearing but declined to be interviewed.

The victim's family had asked the judge to consider requiring Scribner to pay $3,000 restitution to cover Stanhope's funeral costs, but Mulhern said the family had waived claim for restitution when they accepted an insurance settlement in this case.

Scribner agreed to pay the full $1,200 fine on Tuesday, but through his attorney asked the court to delay payment of $295 in victim fees and court costs until after he was released from jail and had time to find work. The judge denied that request, and told him to find someone to help him pay those fees by Nov. 1.

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