CORNVILLE — A loaded 9mm handgun and narcotics were seized Monday morning, while two people were arrested in a raid on a home on Route 43, also known as Shadagee Road, in Cornville.
Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said a search warrant was carried out beginning at about 6:30 a.m. Monday at the home of Andrew Swanson and Jamie Wheeler. Also in the home at the time of the execution of the search warrant were four minor children ages 17 and under, Lancaster said.
Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi II led a team of 11 Deputies and a Maine Drug Enforcement agent who is assigned to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
Seized in the raid were more than 20 grams of heroin, possible amounts of Fentanyl powder, numerous controlled pills, digital scales and $3,319 in cash. Also seized was a 9mm pistol with a loaded clip, drug related documentation and drug related paraphernalia, the sheriff said.
Lancaster said that once the controlled pills are identified and tested and an exact weight is determined more charges can be expected. The seized heroin has an approximate street value of over $4,000.
Swanson, 39, was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in heroin, Class A, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He is charged additionally with unlawful possession of heroin, Class C, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Wheeler, 37, was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in heroin, Class A, and unlawful possession of heroin, Class C.
Lancaster said the charges are elevated for Swanson and Wheeler due to the presence of a firearm near the drugs and due to the amount of heroin seized being more than 6 grams.
Swanson and Wheeler are being held at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison on $20,000 cash bail. Initial court appearances for both are set for Feb. 7 in the Somerset County Unified Court in Skowhegan. More charges may be forthcoming once the case is reviewed by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office.
A Maine Department of Health and Human Services referral will be made by the county Detectives Division due to the fact that children were in the home.
“This is part of an ongoing drug investigation by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office for over a year regarding heroin, Fentanyl and controlled pills being sold in and around Somerset County,” Lancaster said in a news release.
Somerset County sheriff’s deputies cleared the scene of the search warrant just after 9:30 a.m. Monday at 402 Shadagee Road.
Several sheriff’s trucks were in the yard of a two-story, clapboard home set back in the woods about a mile east of Molunkus Road. Route 43 connects Route 150 to Athens and Skowhegan and U.S. Route 201 in Madison.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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