AUGUSTA — Police watching an Augusta home reportedly being used for dealing drugs arrested three people leaving the home on drug trafficking charges.

The arrests included a pair out-of-state men found with — between them — more than 15 grams of heroin and fentanyl and 75 grams of crack cocaine.

Andrew Campbell, 23, of Queens, New York, and Romer Rosario, 19, of Newark, New Jersey, were arrested Thursday, and both were charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, after police pulled over a vehicle leaving 4 Campbell St. in which both passengers. A state police drug-sniffing dog indicated the presence of drugs on both Rosario and Campbell, according to an affidavit filed in court by Nathan Walker, a special agent with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Police searched both of them and found, according to the affidavit, a plastic bag containing 14.5 grams of cocaine base — or crack cocaine — in Rosario’s pants pocket, as well as $1,035 in cash. A search of Campbell turned up plastic bags in his groin containing 60.6 grams of crack and 15.8 grams of a pink powder later determined to be a mix of heroin and fentanyl.

Police conducted surveillance of the home Thursday after learning — from a confidential informant cooperating with Augusta police — that two out-of-state drug dealers were there and had both crack cocaine and heroin. The informant told police about having seen a large amount of crack and heroin on the dealers who were inside the home. As an MDEA agent monitored the Campbell Street home, an Augusta officer — based on information from the informant — reported that the two drug dealers were leaving it.

Police pulled over a sport utility vehicle seen leaving the home, stopping it on Riverside Drive. That’s when the dog indicated the presence of drugs on Rosario and Campbell, resulting in them being searched and, later, arrested and taken to the Kennebec County jail. Bail was initially set at $25,000 for each of them.

Before those arrests, police monitoring the same Campbell Street home Thursday watched as a BMW arrived at the residence, with the driver stopping there for a few minutes, then leaving. An affidavit from Augusta police Detective Matthew Estes states that the vehicle, after leaving the home, weaved back and forth in its lane and crossed the centerline. A state trooper then pulled the vehicle over and determined the driver, Marquis Garrett, had a suspended license and was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear in court.

Police searched Garrett, 33, of Lewiston, and found $3,747 in cash in his pants pocket. In the affidavit, Estes wrote, “Due to the fact that Garrett went to a known drug house where drug dealers were at, that he was there for only a matter of minutes, and the large amount of money on his person it was believed that he more than likely just dropped off drugs to the other dealers and picked up money from them which (was) likely the proceeds of drug sales done at 4 Campbell Street.”

A drug-sniffing dog indicated there were drugs in Garrett’s groin and pocket area, but a search of the vehicle did not reveal any drugs.

Garrett was taken to the Kennebec County jail by an Augusta police officer who said Marquis was moving around in the back of the cruiser a lot. When they arrived at the jail Marquis was removed from the vehicle and police found a “substantial amount of white and pink powder” on the seat where he had sat in the rear of the cruiser.

The powder later tested positive for a heroin and fentanyl mix.

Garrett was arrested and charged with unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, with bail set at $10,000.

 

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @kedwardskj

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Maine man who police say confessed to killing girlfriend pleads not guilty

Next »

Waterville man who allegedly threatened Google arrested for violating protection order