Two people have been charged with trafficking in cocaine and heroin following a monthslong investigation by law enforcement.
Loretta Barton, 57, of Augusta, and Nicholas Rolling, 22, of Lewiston, were arrested Thursday after a search of Barton’s apartment on State Street in Augusta. Barton was charged with aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, and Rolling was charged with trafficking in scheduled drugs.
The charge against Barton is elevated because of a 1992 felony drug conviction, Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, wrote in a news release.
Barton and Rolling were being held Friday at the Kennebec County jail in lieu of $2,500 and $2,000 cash bail, respectively.
The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, along with Augusta police and the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, have spent months investigating the sale of cocaine, crack and heroin from the apartment at 53 State St., a large apartment building at the corner of State and Bridge streets, McCausland said. That investigation has included a number of undercover purchases of drugs from the pair, he said.
Agents searched the first-floor apartment on Thursday, McCausland said. Both Barton, who rents the apartment, and Rolling, who lives elsewhere, were there at the time.
McCausland said the investigation is ongoing and that additional arrests are likely.
McCausland urged anyone with information about drug trafficking to call local law enforcement or the MDEA’s tip-line at 800-452-6457.
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