Tag Archives: death of Tyler Sawyer
Cushing captain to admit guilt in deaths of crew members
Christopher A. Hutchinson, 30, is scheduled to enter guilty pleas to two counts of manslaughter at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 26. In exchange, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has agreed to recommend a sentence of 48 months in prison with credit for time he has served while awaiting trial. That prison sentence would be followed by three years of supervised release. The charges carried a potential sentence of 10 years in prison. He has been held since March 2017. Hutchinson is charged with two counts of seaman’s manslaughter for the deaths of Tom Hammond, 27, of Rockland, and 15-year-old Tyler Sawyer, who lived in St. George and Waldoboro. They were crew members aboard Hutchinson’s lobsterboat, No Limits, which sank Nov. 1, 2014. >click to read<18:28
Maine lobsterman denied bail in federal manslaughter case
A lobsterman from Cushing will remain jailed until his manslaughter trial despite an impassioned plea to have him released to the custody and supervision of his parents. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Rich ruled Monday that Christopher Hutchinson, 28, should not be allowed bail since he already violated conditions when he used drugs and overdosed last month. His parents, who sat in the courtroom during the hearing in Portland, cried as the judge read his decision. Hutchinson is charged with seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 1, 2014, deaths of Tom Hammond, 27, of Rockland and Tyler Sawyer, 15, of St. George. Investigators believe Hutchinson was under the influence of alcohol and opioids when he sailed his lobster boat, No Limits, into a storm, sinking it. ,, Hutchinson was arrested in December after a lengthy investigation and posted $10,000 bail three days later with conditions that he not use substances. He violated those conditions on March 14, when he overdosed on heroin and needed to be revived with the drug Narcan. Read the story here 20:08
Boat captain charged in crewmen’s deaths arrested after overdosing on heroin
A Cushing captain accused of causing the deaths of two crew members when his lobster boat sank in a storm is behind bars again after he reportedly overdosed on heroin. Christopher A. Hutchinson, 28, was arrested Thursday by the Maine Marine Patrol after U.S. District Court Judge Brock Hornby issued an arrest warrant for him on Wednesday.,,Hutchinson was arrested Dec. 19 on two counts of seaman’s manslaughter and released three days later on $10,000 unsecured bail. The court imposed conditions that Hutchinson not use or possess illegal narcotics. But on March 13, Waldoboro emergency medical services and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an unresponsive man at a residence in Friendship, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in U.S. District Court in Portland. Read the story here 14:13
Captain/owner charged with manslaughter in deaths of 2 crew members
A Cushing man has been charged in federal court with seaman’s manslaughter in the deaths of two crew members when his lobster boat sank off the coast of Rockland during a storm in 2014. Christopher A. Hutchinson was arrested Monday, according to court documents, and charged by indictment in the deaths of Tomas Hammond, 26, of St. George, and Tyler Sawyer, 15, of Waldoboro, on Nov. 1, 2014. He is scheduled to make his first appearance Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Portland. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The federal Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute, which dates back to the 1800s, criminalizes misconduct or negligence by anyone responsible for managing a vessel, including a captain, pilot or owner. Hutchinson was the sole survivor in the sinking of his boat, the No Limits. He is accused of taking oxycodone, using marijuana and drinking alcohol before taking the boat out in the early-morning hours. The boat was headed for a fishing area called Eleven Mile Ridge, despite National Weather Service warnings of dangerous weather and sea conditions. Read the story here 15:52
