WATERVILLE — A woman who was arrested last year on drug charges and got a suspended sentence was again arrested Wednesday after police raided her rented Carey Lane home and found 44 marijuana plants growing in the basement.

Cassandra Dion, 28, of 41 Carey Lane in the city’s South End, was charged Wednesday with aggravated cultivation of marijuana and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, both class C felonies, and placed on a probation hold, according to Detective Sgt. Bill Bonney.

Bonney, who conducted the raid Wednesday with several other detectives and officers, said Dion’s boyfriend’s father, Lee Maheu, 52, who was helping cultivate the marijuana, was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear for operating after suspension and being a habitual offender and was summoned on a charge of aggravated cultivation of marijuana.

Dion and her boyfriend, Andrew Maheu, were arrested in August last year at their apartment at 17 Broadway St. and charged with aggravated trafficking in heroin, unlawful furnishing in oxycodone, unlawful trafficking in marijuana and unlawful possession of psychedelic mushrooms. Bonney said Andrew Maheu was in jail when Wednesday’s search on Carey Lane took place.

He said that Dion, in a plea agreement, was sentenced to three years, all suspended, with two years probation for class C unlawful possession of oxycodone in connection with last year’s arrest.

Police received information recently that there was marijuana growing in the house Dion rents at 41 Carey Lane, so Detective Duane Cloutier obtained a search warrant, and police searched the house at 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to Bonney.

Dion lives there with her infant and two other children, 3 and 7, he said.

They were not at home when police arrived, but officers stopped Dion in a vehicle on Elm Street and her infant was with her and they went to the house, he said.

Police contacted the state Department of Health and Human Services, and Bonney said he believed the children were to be placed with a family member. He said Lee Maheu was not at the Carey Lane house when the search started, but police called him and he arrived at the scene.

Police found a Hi-Point 9 mm handgun with a bill of sale and her name on it in the home, he said.

“We learned that her boyfriend’s father was helping her cultivate marijuana while her boyfriend was in jail,” he said.

At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Bonney said Dion and Lee Maheu were about to be taken to Kennebec County jail in Augusta. Dion’s bail was set at $2,000, but because she was on a probation hold, she would not be able to make bail, he said. She is scheduled to appear in Kennebec County Superior Court Oct. 26.

Lee Maheu’s bail was set at $700, and he is scheduled to appear in that same court Dec. 8, Bonney said.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AmyCalder17