A New Yorker is charged with dealing in heroin in the Alfond Youth Center parking lot on North Street in Waterville.

Jermaine Blunt, 33, of New York, made an initial appearance in front of a judge Monday at the Capital Judicial Center via video from the Kennebec County jail.

Blunt had been held at the jail in lieu of $75,000 bail set by a bail commissioner. An affidavit by Waterville police Officer Duane Cloutier said the bail was set at $25,000 for each of the three class A charges of aggravated trafficking — two in heroin and one in cocaine base — with an additional $500 cash for a related charged of failing to provide correct name and date of birth.

On Monday, Judge Eric Walker agreed to the state’s request for $75,000 bail with conditions that prohibit Blunt from use and possession of alcohol and illegal drugs and from leaving the state of Maine. Walker said the bail could be reviewed once an attorney is appointed for Blunt.

A man known as “Shawn” or “Jamal” was dealing dugs in Waterville, according to a confidential informant working with police, Cloutier wrote.

Coultier wrote that he and three other law enforcement officers worked with the informant, placed a wireless transmitter on him, provided “buy money” and had him call “Shawn” for drugs on May 15. Cloutier said “Shawn” said to meet at the parking lot of the Boys and Girls Clubs & YMCA of Greater Waterville at the Alfond Youth Center on North Street. The youth center, which is also near the municipal pool, basketball courts and a playground, has some 5,000 members and has programs for children as young as toddlers.

Cloutier said “brown tar heroin and a bag of suspected crack cocaine” was obtained by the informant during the drug buy in the parking lot.

The same scenario was repeated May 17, this time for heroin. The offenses are charged as “aggravated” because the location of the alleged trafficking is an area classified as a “safe zone,” which includes such areas as an athletic field, park, playground or recreational facility, according to Maine law.

Police obtained a search warrant for the man known as Shawn and found no drugs on him, according to Cloutier. However, the suspect refused to give his name and date of birth, eventually telling officers he was from Boston and New York.

Fingerprints sent to the FBI identified the suspect as Blunt, according to a separate affidavit by Waterville police Officer Luis Rodriguez, who assisted in the booking process.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

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