Dana S. Dasilva, left, and Michelle N. Luce

AUGUSTA — An Anson woman convicted of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon for her role in a spree of drive-by shootings at four central Maine homes last year said her then-boyfriend, who was the shooter, drugged her and made her confess to police she was the driver.

Michelle N. Luce, 27, entered an Alford guilty plea at the Capital Judicial Center on Wednesday to a charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.  Luce pleading guilty via an Alford plea means the defendant did not agree with all aspects of the state’s claimed evidence but understood she could be convicted if a jury believed it.

She will have that charge reduced from a felony likely to result in jail time to a misdemeanor likely to result in only a fine if she complies with the terms of a deferred disposition plea agreement. The plea bargain requires her to seek mental health and substance use disorder counseling and stay out of any additional trouble for a year.

No one was injured when shots were fired into at least one vehicle and several homes. One man was almost hit by a bullet that entered his Waterville home, police said. The shootings took place at four locations, two in Waterville and one each in Winslow and Clinton.

The shooter, Dana S. Dasilva, 27, of Skowhegan, pleaded guilty to Class B felony counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, a Class C charge of possessing a firearm by a prohibited person and a Class D charge of criminal mischief. Dasilva was sentenced to serve a total of at least five years in prison in July of last year.

Luce confessed to Waterville Police that she drove while Dasilva shot from the back of her vehicle.

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said police investigating the case determined Dasilva was the main culprit in the shootings, and she said Luce presented evidence that she was in a domestic violence relationship with Dasilva. He had forced her to take drugs that day and was not fully aware of what she was doing, Maloney said. She said Luce did not have a criminal record and has a very positive and long work history.

Maloney said those were the main reasons for any leniency in the sentence for Luce. If she doesn’t comply with the terms of her deferred disposition, she could face up to five years in jail, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy warned. Murphy added that she hopes Luce does comply with the conditions placed on her and said if she does, in a year from now, she would face only a fine, not incarceration.

Assistant District Attorney Shannon Flaherty said Luce has already received counseling.

Luce’s lawyer Philip Mohlar said Dasilva was very controlling and a sociopath who forced Luce to ingest drugs and forced her to confess to police she was the driver during the incident. He said Luce has only one misdemeanor conviction from many years ago and the drive-by shooting incident with Dasilva was “completely out of character for her.” He said in the video in which police interviewed her, she was clearly not in a clear state of mind at the time.

The homes targeted by Dasilva were believed by him to have ties to his ex-girlfriend and were done in what prosecutors at the time of his sentencing said were a violent message to his ex-girlfriend and people connected to her.

In addition to receiving counseling, Luce must meet other conditions during the yearlong deferred disposition, including that she not use or possess illegal drugs and not use alcoholic beverages.

“The terms were very detailed, to make sure she got the help necessary to make sure this never happened again,” Maloney said. “And she’s already started that treatment, which gives me a lot of confidence.”