MACHIAS — A Danforth couple charged with manufacturing methamphetamine will receive court-appointed attorneys, a Washington County Superior Court judge decided Monday.
Justice Robert Murray also set bail Monday for Allen Richardson and Tabbatha Osnoe, whose infant son died Friday morning and whose mobile home was heavily damaged by fire the same morning.
Richardson, 39, and Osnoe, 30, were charged on Saturday with manufacturing methamphetamine. The two made initial court appearances Monday, answering questions from Murray but saying little.
The charges stem from items that were discovered in their home on Weatherbee Street when it was searched by an investigator from the state fire marshal’s office on Saturday, according to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. The items typically are used in “one-pot” methamphetamine-making operations, the MDEA said.
Trafficking in methamphetamine is a Class B crime in Maine, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $20,000.
Richardson and Osnoe are the parents of Mach-Danyel Richardson, the 5-month-old boy who was pronounced dead at a Danforth medical facility after his parents brought the baby there Friday morning.
About an hour after the parents called 911 to report the baby was unresponsive, a neighbor called 911 to report the family’s mobile home was on fire. Police have said they do not believe the fire and the baby’s death were connected.
An autopsy was performed on the infant Saturday, but authorities have not determined the cause of death. Mark Belserene, a spokesman for the state medical examiner’s office, said Monday “it may be a while before we have a cause.”
Authorities also are investigating the cause of the fire.
The couple lived in the home with the infant and a 4-year-old.
Murray ordered $10,000 cash bail or $50,000 surety bond for Richardson, and $5,000 cash bail or $25,000 surety bond for Osnoe. Both have been held in the Washington County Jail since their arrest and appeared in court wearing jail-issued clothes and with manacled hands and feet.
In asking that the judge set $10,000 cash bail or $50,000 surety bond for both defendants, Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh told Murray that Richardson, who has been on probation, has a criminal record for burglary dating to 1999. Cavanaugh, who sought the same bond for both defendants, said that Osnoe was on probation for a burglary conviction.
Murray also imposed conditions in the event the defendants make bail, including prohibiting them from having contact with one another.
MDEA agents searched the home Saturday and seized a significant amount of evidence consistent with the illicit manufacturing of methamphetamine, according to MDEA Cmdr. Peter Arno.
Richardson allegedly admitted to agents that he made methamphetamine for the past six to seven months, according to a source with knowledge of the search warrant affidavit.
In addition, Osnoe allegedly admitted that the activity had been going on at her residence for about a month, although she claims she was not present when Richardson made methamphetamine.
She also allegedly admitted to purchasing pseudoephedrine, a nonprescription cold remedy, and giving it to Richardson so he could make methamphetamine.
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