A New Hampshire man is free this week on $1,000 bail following his arrest Sunday in New Sharon after police searched his car as he was leaving a marijuana advocacy festival in Starks.

State Trooper Niles Krech, of Troop D barracks in Augusta, said he was assigned to a speeding detail Sunday afternoon on Route 134 in New Sharon when he pulled over Thomas S. Daigle, 22, of Madbury, New Hampshire, for speeding.

“They have a lot of issues with people speeding in that area,” Krech said Thursday. “We even have a passive radar set up because people are hauling through that area of New Sharon.” He said the speed limit on the stretch, which is Starks Road in New Sharon, is 25 mph.

Krech said he saw items in Daigle’s car and in the pocket of a passenger that led him to believe he had cause to search the car, and he asked the pair to get out of the car. He said the passenger cooperated, but Daigle did not.

“He continually verbally battled me and refused to step out of the car, so I explained to him briefly what was going on and why I was doing what I was doing and he continued to argue with me,” Krech said.

Krech said when he reached in the driver’s side window and unlocked the door, Daigle grabbed his hand and pulled it away. He said Daigle also slammed the door shut even after he managed to open it. Krech called for an additional trooper, after which Daigle got out of the car and was arrested, he said. Krech said when he searched the vehicle, he found hashish, marijuana edibles and tinctures, marijuana and paraphernalia.

Daigle was charged with possession of hashish, a marijuana derivative; refusing to submit to arrest; and a civil violation of possession of marijuana. Daigle did not have a Maine medical marijuana card, which would have allowed him to possess usable amounts of marijuana. All of the charges are misdemeanors.

Krech said he was authorized to search the vehicle because he had probable cause after he saw actions inside the car when he pulled the car over, what he found in the passenger’s pocket and “knowing where they were coming from,” which was the annual music and art festival, Harry’s Hoe Down, in the Somerset County town of Starks. Krech said circumstances and items he saw in the car led him to the conclusion they’d been at the festival.

“It’s the Starks Harry Brown farm,” the trooper said. “They are there to advocate the use of marijuana.”

The passenger, whose name was not released, was not charged.

Daigle was taken to the Franklin County jail in Farmington, where he later was released on $1,000 cash bail. Krech said bail amounts routinely are higher than usual when someone resists arrest.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow