PORTLAND — A Missouri man who drove to Limerick from his home state with a car full of guns and other weapons ”“ planning to kill his estranged wife ”“ will spend the next 100 months, or eight years and four months, in federal prison.

Benjamin Lee, 52, convicted of two counts of interstate stalking by a jury Sept. 17 after a five-day trial, was sentenced Monday at U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Authorities found five guns and more than 200 rounds of ammunition, a machete, a bayonet, a folding knife, handcuffs, duct tape, rubber gloves, camouflage face paint, a map of Maine with Limerick circled, a roll of plastic trash bags and a roll of plastic sheeting when they stopped his car Sept. 7, 2012.

During a subsequent search, federal authorities found a digital camera with a photo of Lee’s estranged wife, a photo of her Limerick residence, an empty cooler and a sleeping bag.

Lee’s attorney, James Clifford, sought a lighter sentence, and Lee’s family members asked that he be transferred to a federal prison hospital in Springfield, Mo., for medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment, according to court documents. Clifford pointed out that had Lee been prosecuted under state law, and not federal law, his sentence would be lighter.

“There is a strong argument that interstate stalking, a ”˜federalized’ state domestic violence law, imposes grossly unfair consequences to a defendant who makes the mistake of crossing a state line,” Clifford wrote, in part, in a sentencing memorandum.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Murphy and Darcie N. McElwee pointed out in their response that Lee continued to deny his crimes.

“More troublesome are his statements, which express clearly that he continues to harbor serious resentment toward the victims, who are therefore still in real danger when the defendant is released,” the two attorneys wrote. “The risk of recidivism is high in light of the defendant’s history of, and propensity for, violence.”

An affidavit filed by FBI special agent Patrick Clancy said Lee planned to kill his estranged wife, sent her threatening emails, and then drove to Maine with a trunk full of weapons to find her.

The victim, according to the affidavit, left her husband in Missouri in the spring, after suffering a history of physical and verbal abuse. She told authorities she had attempted to leave Lee several times, but that he had threatened to harm or kill her family members, telling her “you can’t hide.”

The couple has two adult children.

She told authorities the abuse had increased over the past 10 years, since Lee had become a heavy drug user.

She left in the spring and came to Maine. Lee, since that time, had threatened to kill her and her boyfriend, according to the affidavit.

The woman called 911 several times Sept. 7, reporting that Lee was driving past her house in a white Cadillac and that he might have a gun.

“I believe I am being stalked by my husband, who’s supposed to be in Missouri,” she told authorities. “I can’t help but panic, I know him. We’re terrified.”

There were several people in the house at the time, including a young child.

Maine State Police and York County Sheriff’s Office learned during the traffic stop that Lee had taken a photograph of the house where his estranged wife was living, allegedly learned the layout of the house and drove to a location where he could park and observe the house, according to the affidavit.

Clancy, the FBI agent, wrote that not all emails from Lee to his wife contained threats, but he found several that did.

“If I hunt you down, there will be no terms,” he wrote, in part, in one email.

“I have no schedule, I can wait forever, and if I decide I need to come out there, I will see things through,” a second states.

“You really want to see what you pushed me to? Stick around, you will feel this, I promise,” a third email says, in part.

Clancy wrote that he spoke to Lee’s sister, who told him that over several weeks in July and August she heard her brother say he planned to travel to Maine to kill his estranged wife.

The day before he arrived in Limerick, the couple received a call from his sister, who hadn’t heard from him ”“ she thought he might be headed to Maine, according to federal authorities.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.