Former Mechanic Falls Chief Everett H. Leonard's three month jail sentence was suspended Wednesday because of Leonard's health problems.

AUBURN, Maine (AP) _ A former Maine police chief has avoided jail time after admitting to drug and illegal hunting offenses.

Everett H. Leonard of Turner, the one-time chief in Mechanic Falls, agreed in September to a deal that required him to spend three months behind bars. But a judge Wednesday suspended the sentence because of the 61-year-old Leonard's health problems. In the past year, he has undergone prostate surgery, was diagnosed with diabetes and suffered a stroke.

The Sun Journal reports Leonard had faced up to 42 years in jail and $84,000 in fines for illegal hunting activities in 2010. He was also charged with selling oxycodone.

When Leonard and his son were arrested in January 2011, police seized hundreds of pounds of deer meat, guns, and other hunting-related equipment from their homes.