Federal charges have been brought against a Dublin man accused of driving around with a mobile meth lab. 

Jesse E. Dennis, 31, has been arraigned on two charges – attempt to manufacture methamphetamine and possession of materials to manufacture methamphetamine – by the U.S. District Court in Concord, according to court documents. Dennis has entered a plea of not guilty for both charges. 

Dennis was initially arrested in Keene on Jan, 13, after allegedly running into shopping carts in the Walmart parking lot. Dennis was charged with DWI, driving after suspension, and attempted manufacture of controlled drugs at the state court level, but they were all dropped.

According to Don Feith, who works at the US Attorney’s Office in NH, a five year sentence would be a “really general” and “not uncommon” sentence for Dennis, should he be guilty. Feith said penalties listed under the US Codes, which carry prison sentences of up to a 10 year to life sentence, would likely not be used because there was no amount of drugs listed in Dennis’ indictment. 

A trial for Dennis is scheduled to begin on Aug. 16, with a pre-trial date of Aug. 2. The trial was initially scheduled to begin on June 21, with a pre-trail on June 2, but Dennis’ attorney, Jeffrey S. Levin of the Federal Public Defender Office, filed a motion to continue the trial. 

The court has made a recommendation that Dennis be allowed entrance into the Therapeutic Community Program at the Strafford County House of Corrections.

Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.