An Augusta man has been indicted on two counts of aggravated trafficking in fentanyl powder, and one count of receiving stolen property, each allegedly taking place on July 1, 2024, in Augusta.

Jashawn F. Lipscombe, 26, was arrested after state and Augusta police found fentanyl in an Eastern Avenue, Augusta, apartment where Lipscombe and his girlfriend lived.

Police were initially searching for a handgun reported stolen in a June 12, 2024, Westbrook robbery, described by a Westbrook detective as drug related, in which they believed Lipscombe was involved.

Acting on the search warrant to seek evidence related to the alleged robbery, police saw a tied plastic bag containing “a hard, off-white substance” in the front bedroom, which they believed to be cocaine base, next to the apartment’s main entrance, according to an affidavit filed by Nathan Walker, a special agent with Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Walker said in the affidavit that based upon finding narcotics in plain view, he drafted a new search warrant to seize narcotics from the apartment. The warrant was reviewed and granted by a judge, and police returned to search the apartment for narcotics.

During the second search, police say they found another tied plastic bag, containing an off-white powder, which later testing indicated contained 1.64 grams of fentanyl powder. Another plastic bag containing a similar off-white substance was found tucked into a ceiling tile. That bag was later determined to contain 2.73 grams of fentanyl powder.

Police say they later found another bag containing what was later determined to be 7.5 grams of fentanyl powder in a closet in a bedroom.

Police also found several handguns, including the one allegedly connected to the Westbrook robbery investigation, the affidavit stated.

Lipscombe was indicted by a Kennebec County grand jury Aug. 20 on two counts of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, Class A felony charges punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He was also indicted on one Class B count of receiving stolen property, related to the allegedly stolen handgun.

An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but it indicates that there is enough evidence to proceed with formal charges and a trial.

Lipscombe, whose first name is also listed by police on some documents as Jashaun, was found not guilty in 2023 of the 2020 shooting death of Joseph Tracy, 33, of West Gardiner. Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman, who presided over and decided the verdict in the bench trial, said at the time prosecutors had failed to prove that Lipscombe was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Lipscombe had waived his right to a jury trial, so Cashman decided the outcome of the case.

Jashawn’s brother, Jarae Lipscombe, 28, was sentenced in January 2023 to five years in prison, with all but three years suspended, after he was found guilty in 2022 of hindering apprehension or prosecution because he lied to police and helped his brother flee from a crime scene and then flee the state and remain at large for about nine months.