CLINTON — A routine traffic stop last month turned into one of the town’s biggest drug seizures in recent memory.

Brian R. Stackpole, 23, was arrested Jan. 9 on a felony drug charge when a relatively new police officer pulled him over on Main Street and discovered 98 grams of uncut cocaine in the car, according to Chief Craig Johnson. The arresting officers also seized $3,500 in cash.

Stackpole was charged with unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs — a class B felony — which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines. He was taken to Kennebec County jail, and later released on $2,500 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear in Kennebec County Superior Court on Feb. 26.

Johnson said his department withheld news of the arrest for investigative purposes.

Sgt. Lowell Woodman, a supervisor at the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, said it was a substantial seizure. Cocaine has a street value of about $100 per gram, he said, which amounts to about $9,800 in this case.

The arresting officer, Michael Sayers, joined Clinton’s three-member police force in May, and graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s Basic Law Enforcement Training program in December.

“Officer Sayers is a top-notch law enforcement officer with high energy,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that it was the largest drug bust he’s seen during his five years as police chief in the town of 3,400.

Ben McCanna — 861-9239
bmccanna@centralmaine.com