Another court case involving drug trafficking was heard in the Nome Courthouse this afternoon. Zachary Bourdon, recently arrested for misconduct involving a controlled substance, had a preliminary hearing today where he was given a copy of his eleven charges for the first time.
The highest charge brought against Bourdon is manufacturing or distributing more than a gram of heroin, which the presiding judge, Robert D. Lewis, explained comes with a hefty punishment.
“Count number one is called misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree; it is a B felony and carries a maximum of ten years in jail and a maximum of $100,000 in fines if proven. If the government can establish evidence beyond a reasonable doubt at your trial that you manufactured or delivered or possessed with the intent to manufacture or deliver more than one gram,” explained Lewis, “more than one gram — that’s what constitutes a B felony.”
Judge Lewis summarized some of Bourdon’s heroin-related charges, which are mostly repeated counts of manufacturing, distributing, or possessing heroin from dates between March 1st and March 8th of this year.
“Possession of less than a gram of heroin is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a maximum, I believe, thirty days in jail and a maximum of $200 in fines. So, you can see that these possessions with the intention to manufacture or deliver are felonies. These charges you are charged with, which simply are possession charges, are all duplicative, all reference the same dates, and they are all misdemeanors,” stated Judge Lewis.
Bourdon’s preliminary hearing will be continued a week from today, April 11th, and his bail remains at $20,000 with a third-party custodian.
