RUMFORD — A New Hampshire man who caused a standoff with police for more than hour Saturday evening was arrested and may face a felony drug trafficking charge after police found 2,500 suspected doses of fentanyl in his bedroom.
Matthew Middaugh, 36, of Errol, New Hampshire, was charged with being a fugitive from justice and creating a standoff with police and was held without bail at the Oxford County Jail, according to Rumford Police Chief Tony Milligan.
Matthew Middaugh
Milligan said that a single count of Class A aggravated drug trafficking, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, may be added once police test the drugs found during Middaugh’s arrest.
According to Milligan, Rumford police received a request for assistance in locating Middaugh Saturday afternoon from police in Berlin, New Hampshire.
Milligan said that Berlin police had evidence that Middaugh had committed felony violations of a protection order and had threatened the person who had filed the protection order with a gun.
“Berlin police determined that Middaugh was communicating these threats to the victim verbally and by text messages using one or more cell phones from a residence on East Bethel Road in Rumford and was allegedly planning on leaving the residence and going to New Hampshire to carry out his threats,” Milligan said.
Rumford police officers, with the assistance of the Maine State Police Tactical Team, Oxford County Sheriff’s Department, and Mexico Police Department, responded to the residence and found that Middaugh was intoxicated inside and refused to come out.
“A State Police negotiator made contact with Middaugh by cell phone and after an hour of discussions with him, Middaugh agreed to cooperate and exit the residence … and gave himself up peacefully to police,” Milligan said.
As police searched the Rumford residence following Middaugh’s surrender, Milligan said that the Rumford Police K9 team discovered drugs in the bedroom that Middaugh had occupied.
Milligan said that police discovered “approximately 250 grams, or 2,500 doses, of suspected fentanyl and other evidence to support the crime of felony aggravated drug trafficking.”
The estimated street value of the suspected fentanyl is almost $100,000, according to Milligan.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
