WESTBROOK — Police seized 50 grams of suspected fentanyl and 90 suspected Xanax pills after responding to a call last week about two men with handguns arguing in the street.
Police arrested Brendan Richardson, 24, of Westbrook July 16 on charges of domestic violence reckless conduct, domestic violence assault, elevated aggravated assault, domestic violence terrorizing, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and aggravated trafficking in scheduled W Drugs (fentanyl).
The two aggravated factors for the drug charges are the use of a firearm in furtherance of the alleged drug crime and the close proximity to an elementary school – within 1,000 feet of Congin School, Lally said.
When police arrived at the scene on Cumberland Street, Richardson was just walking out of a nearby wooded area, according to Capt. Sean Lally. A woman at the scene told police that Richardson had “repeatedly assaulted and threatened her” inside her home, Lally said. When the woman’s father arrived to pick her up, “a confrontation ensued between the father and Richardson.”
The woman’s father was in legal possession of a handgun, police said. Police found a gun hidden in the woods that Richardson was seen leaving and believe he had hidden it there before police arrived. They obtained a search warrant for Richardson’s home based on the domestic violence allegations, Lally said.
Police seized evidence related to the domestic violence allegations and over 50 grams of suspected fentanyl, 90 suspected Xanax pills, drug packaging materials and other drug paraphernalia.
Richardson was booked at the Cumberland County Jail and the case has been turned over to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, according to Lally.
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