BANGOR, Maine — A resident of First Street who witnessed his childhood friend get mortally stabbed in front of his apartment in May was caught last week with heroin and the synthetic drug bath salts, police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Monday.
Eugene “Shawn” Cox, 40, told police his truck malfunctioned at about 3:15 p.m. Thursday when he crashed it into several trees by the Bangor police station. The crash was witnessed by Officer Joe Baillargeon, who had just arrived.
“He saw this blue pickup truck hit a couple trees,” then stop in its tracks, Edwards said. “Mr. Cox said he thought he lost a piece of his steering component and he couldn’t steer.”
After the collision, “we were all looking out the window,” the sergeant said, referring to himself and his co-workers at the station.
Cox was sweating and acting nervously and that alerted Baillargeon, who along with Officer Kevin Haefele found a knife in a holster on his waist and a push-button switchblade in his pocket, according to Edwards.
“He also had some plastic baggies, one that tested positive for MDPV [methylenedioxypyrovalerone] — bath salts,” Edwards said.
A second baggie contained heroin, a test confirmed, the sergeant said.
Cox was charged with possession of synthetic hallucinogenic drugs, unlawful possession of scheduled drugs and trafficking in dangerous knives.
He was taken to the Penobscot County Jail and later released.
Cox said he was upstairs in his apartment on First Street at about 1:45 a.m. on May 22 when he heard his friend Andy D. Smith, 38, arguing with a woman he once lived with out in the street when another woman intervened.
The second woman, who lives next door at 71 First St., “came out with a two-by-four and she hit him,” apparently in defense of the first woman, Cox told the Bangor Daily News.
“He got the two-by-four away from her and she called for her friends. They all started on him.”
Seconds later, Smith was bleeding from a wound to his left rib area and was trying to get away. Cox did not see who stabbed his friend, whom he had met in middle school.
“I ran down with a pipe” and met a bleeding Smith at the bottom of the steps, he said.
The last thing Smith said to his longtime friend was “to tell his kids that he loved them,” Cox said.
Jason Alan Trickett, 41, admitted to police that he stabbed Smith, whom he described as a friend, and now is facing manslaughter charges.
Smith, who is survived by his wife and two children, died after he was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center.
Surprised? I’m not!
right? was just talking with a friend about how bad bangor has become and how lax pd is about certain stuff… friends had to secure a monkey duster in a house they had broken into because it took over 45 min for pd to respond. so was the stabbing on first street bath salt related? we all know first street among many others are so bad, so does pd.. but what do they ever do about it? …crap’s just going to keep coming to a head. better all attend the second st park neighborhood meeting (w/bpd) tomorrow to voice your concerns if any of this concerning to you as well.
Oh, huh. The Star witness the BDN interviewed, setting off a chain reaction of armchair investigators to question BPD’s handling of the murder case appears to have some credibility problems. Weird.
“Welcome back to the show everyone. This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The results are in and this year’s city with the worst drug problem goes to…… Bangor!”
Smooth story transition
What is the name of the landlord that saw fit to bring this gentlemen to our community? In fact, the BDN could do an interesting story about the property owners of the sleazier properties in this town and it would be quite revealing. The community might be interested to know how many of the local slums are owned by Mayors, City Council members, Committee members and other local ‘dignitaries’, who speak about loving their community on one hand and rent to anyone to make a dime with the other.
He was a transient I believe, so couch surfing or Homeless Shelter, First St. landlords and others do need to be held accountable for what occurs in their buildings. One landlords reply to a lady who complained about the actions of some of his tenants was ” I don’t live next to them”
Careful With That Axe, Eugene.
Jeeesh…. some people. You’d think they be smart enough to leave their Salt and Dirt at home if they were intending on crashing right next to the police station…. Some people just beg to have their “freedom” taken from them… As much as I am basically not completely against drugs, I have no pity for the weak…. or stupid, in this case.
couldn’t of happened 2 a better person,have fun in prison ,order them around !!!i love it!!