A Skowhegan man is in Somerset County Jail facing drug trafficking charges after law enforcement officers from three agencies searched his home and vehicle Wednesday on Hilltop Drive in that town, seizing Fentanyl, drug paraphernalia and cash.
Jason Keaten, 39, was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in a schedule W drug, a class A crime, and possession of a schedule W drug, class C, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said Wednesday in a news release. He said the drug trafficking charge is aggravated because more than six grams of Fentanyl were found in Keaten’s possession.
At about 7 a.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office searched Keaten’s home, with Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi leading a team of eight deputies, a Maine Drug Enforcement Agent assigned to the Sheriff’s Office, and a detective from Skowhegan Police Department, according to Lancaster.
Hilltop Drive is off Parkman Hill Road, which is off U.S. Route 2 East.
“During the execution of the search warrant, Keaten was stopped in a maroon 2008 Mitsubishi car near his residence,” Lancaster’s news release says. “A subsequent search of Keaten’s person yielded approximately 56 grams of Fentanyl powder, drug related paraphernalia and $642 in cash. The motor vehicle that Keaten was operating was also seized as evidence.”
During the search of Keaten’s home and a motor vehicle there, officials found and seized loaded needles with Fentanyl, a small bag of Fentanyl, cutting agents used for the Fentanyl, drug-related paraphernalia, digital scales, and $3,020 in cash, Lancaster said. He said the approximate street value of the Fentanyl is $11,200.
Keaten is being held at the jail on $50,000 cash, according to Lancaster. He is scheduled to appear in Somerset County Unified Criminal Court on Dec. 4.
Once all the seized items are tested and weighed and the case is reviewed by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office, additional charges may be forthcoming, according to Lancaster.
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