WATERVILLE — A resident of 3 Butler Court is in jail after police Thursday night searched his apartment and seized cocaine, fentanyl and $3,000 in cash, according to Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey.

Bradley Steven Dickey, 32, was on probation for a 2016 conviction for unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs when police knocked on the door of his apartment, Apartment 2, about 9 p.m. Thursday to do a probation check, Massey said Friday. Police had contacted Dickey’s probation officer before the check, and the officer asked police to do a urine check on Dickey to see if he had any illegal drugs in his system. His probation conditions forbid him to use illegal drugs.

When Waterville police Sgt. Jason Longley, Detective Duane Cloutier, and officers Ryan Dinsmore, Tim Locke, Daryl Gordon and Luis Rodriguez arrived on Butler Court around 9 p.m., they could see several people clearly in Dickey’s apartment through a window, but they had to knock at length before Dickey answered it, Massey said. Butler Court is off Ticonic Street in the city’s North End.

Police told Dickey they were going to do a probation check to make sure he was not violating any restrictions or requirements, Massey said. Police also secured six other adults and some children who were in the apartment, he said.

One adult who legally had a handgun was allowed to leave. Once everyone was secured, police searched the apartment and found about 1.1 grams of powdered cocaine, 1.9 grams of fentanyl powder and $3,000 in cash, according to Massey. The street value of the fentanyl is $400; and the cocaine, $200, he said.

Dickey submitted to the urine test, and drugs were detected in his system, so he was arrested on a probation violation, Massey said.

Dickey also was summoned and charged with two counts of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs, a class B felony, and two counts of unlawful furnishing in scheduled drugs, a class C felony, he said. The charges were elevated because of Dickey’s 2016 conviction, according to Massey.

“These illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin and fentanyl that are being sold in our community are responsible for causing widespread overdoses that often result in overdose deaths,” Massey said. “Many times these illegal drugs are cross-contaminated with other drugs, such as heroin being laced with fentanyl, making it a very dangerous and sometimes lethal cocktail for the user.”

Massey said the opioid crisis in communities, the state and the nation represents one of the most pressing social challenges his department faces.

“That is why the Waterville Police Department has stepped outside of its traditional role of combating illegal drugs with primarily enforcement efforts and is now engaging in education and treatment efforts such as our recently implemented Project HOPE program in January of 2017 that combines enforcement, education and treatment, with the emphasis on treatment to help those that are addicted to opioids,” he said.

Once Dickey submitted Thursday to the search of his apartment and to a urine test and tested positive for drugs in his system, police called his probation officer, who placed a hold on his probation, according to Massey.

“There is no bail, so he’s being held at Kennebec County Jail without bail,” Massey said.

Dickey is scheduled to appear in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta Feb. 26, he said.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AmyCalder17

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