A Blue Hill resident, Caleb Rhine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. ordered Rhine, 22, to serve 12 months and one day in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Court records show that Rhine had been indicted on June 8, 2023, in Hancock County Superior Court for aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs. Despite this indictment, on May 5, 2024, he attempted to buy a firearm from a federally licensed dealer in Ellsworth. To complete the transaction, Rhine filled out Form 4473 required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). When asked if he was under indictment or information for a felony or any crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, Rhine checked “No.” He subsequently purchased the gun based partly on this response.
The case was investigated by ATF and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America initiative, this case is part of a broader effort to use federal resources to address illegal immigration and combat cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.