Authorities on Sunday released the mugshot of the Westbrook man they say caused a drug scare at the Cumberland County Jail Friday.

The photo of 29-year-old Brent Gross shows him with a cut on his forehead, a shaved head, and droopy eyelids. He appears to be wearing some type of protective vest.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the jail, said in a statement that Gross was being searched by intake officers around 4 p.m. Friday when he refused to surrender drugs that he had in his possession. At the time, he was being processed after being arrested by Westbrook police on charges of possession and trafficking of fentanyl.

Gross had to be removed from the processing area and restrained, the statement said, but the scuffle caused some of the drugs he had with him to fall onto the floor. The contents of one container went airborne, forcing intake officers to be treated for fentanyl exposure at Maine Medical Center.

The jail intake workers were treated and able to return to work. The substance that went airborne was tested and found positive for fentanyl.

The jail intake area had to be closed for about two hours and the rest of the facility went into lockdown following the incident.

Gross made bail over the weekend, according to jail workers.


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