MEDWAY, Maine — East Millinocket police seized a pound of marijuana and arrested two people after police officers, game wardens and a sheriff’s deputy raided a home at 594 Pattagumpus Road on Wednesday, Police Chief Cameron McDunnah said Thursday.
Ted Fiske, 49, and Michelle Somers, 39, both of that address, were charged with unlawful furnishing of Schedule Z drugs shortly after the execution of the search warrant, McDunnah said.
More charges are possible. The Penobscot County district attorney’s office is reviewing the case, McDunnah said.
The raid occurred after police received or developed information at around 1:15 p.m. Wednesday of illegal drug production or use at the address. They raided the home hours later and found the processed marijuana, plus growing supplies and other drug paraphernalia, McDunnah said.
East Millinocket police officers Bradley Fitzgerald, Jon Glidden, Lamont Ouellette, plus Penobscot County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Knights and Sgt. Ron Dunham, and Jim Davis of the Maine Warden Service participated in the raid. The suspects surrendered without incident, McDunnah said.
Police found signs that a marijuana-growing operation had occurred at the home, but not recently, McDunnah said. McDunnah said he had no idea how much the marijuana was worth in street value.
“I am just pleased with the guys getting good information and acting on it,” McDunnah said of his officers.
Both suspects posted bail and are due in Millinocket District Court on Jan. 9, McDunnah said.
The marijuana arrests and seizure are the second in about a month for East Millinocket police, who are contracted to cover Medway.
S ix to eight pounds of marijuana were seized and four men arrested in early October as police capped a nearly three-month investigation into Katahdin region drug sales.
George Sprague, 30, and Ethan Hitchcock, 22, both of Medway, and Kevin Day, 49, and Chris Willigar, 29, both of East Millinocket, were charged late Friday with cultivation of marijuana. They posted bail and are due in Millinocket District Court on Dec. 5, McDunnah has said.
Police used confidential informants and surveillance to build a case charging that Day and the other suspects grew the plants on banks of the East Branch of the Penobscot River in Soldiertown Township and in fields nearby before taking it to Day’s home on Maple Street for processing and eventual sale, McDunnah said.
Police believe that the suspects used two-way radios to conduct countersurveillance as part of their operation, McDunnah said.
That investigation is unrelated to Wednesday’s arrests, McDunnah said.
Police have no idea how much a pound of pot is worth ??
How bout 3-5 years at crowbar motel?
7 days with a good lawyer with 1 year probation
Oh my, lock up those big, bad people with marijuana. They might take away from the alcohol and pharmaceutical industry.
Two industries that push PHYSICALLY ADDICTIVE drugs. The Legalization of herb could possibly prevent some folks from getting PHYSICALLY Addicted to alcohol and pills. Who knows it make even lessen the amount of drunk drivers out there.
I forgot big tobacco too.
It seems to me that this whole marijuana issue has to be resolved. I am confused. It’s legal in some states, some doctors can write it for a script even in Maine, you can walk in to places and buy it, you can grow some but not too much, you can have some on you but not too much. The Federal Government claims it is all illegal.
What gives. Can’t we just come up with a uniform set of laws?
If we legalize it, we tax it, heck we could even export it. I could care less just a little sick and tired of reading about it.
Can’t we all just come together, right now……….
ok from this point forward, it is legal and you tell them I told you so…there…solved! :)
President Obama on legalizing marijuana:
“”The answer is, no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy”–President Obama
“White House press secretary Robert Gibbs later clarified Mr. Obama’s position: “The president opposes the legalization of marijuana
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-4894639-503544.html
————-UPDATE——————————–
APRIL, 2012: “Obama says ‘no’ to legalizing weed”-
VIDEO:
http://www.politico.com/multimedia/video/2012/04/obama-says-no-to-legalizing-weed.html
……
During his first term…
Right on! It would have been a bad political move to do it his first term in office. With what happened in Colorado and Washington some kind of change is inevitable in the near future. This prohibition has gotten to the point of just being plain ridiculous now. Save humongous amounts of money on enforcement … and prison costs. Create jobs and tax dollars as well. Not to mention freeing many of those “closet smokers” who have to hide the fact that they smoke a natural herb to protect their professional careers …. such as teachers, coaches, lawyers, and doctors etc. ( yes, I know folks in each of the professions I mentioned that do unwind with a joint now and then).
My thoughts exactly. Now it is time to mobilize to make sure he addresses it in his second term.
This could solve his problem of how to pay for Obamacare. The government could set up distribution centers and make lots of money.
In a second and final term of office, a president starts thinking of his legacy he will leave. He is not about to go down in history as the president that let the genie out of the bottle.
It could be one the most impressive part of his legacy. Turned the economy around, ended the pharmaceutical control of our health care system and unleash the incredible potential of hemp.
hahaha yeah his legacy would be remembered as the president who got the Nation stoned and created a race of lethargic foggy minded people that drove the potato chip industry to all time record highs….Lol
Stereotypes.
Being the president that saw both the benefits and inevitability of legalization, and the continued futility of prohibition, seems a rather good legacy to leave. This is an issue the left and right can come together on. It’s a winner.
More people voted to legalize it in Co. than did for Obama……….Govt needs to listen, it is time.
We know Clinton ” never inhaled” , right ??
I wonder, did Barry ever “inhale” ?
Sounds to me like you should inhale.
That would be illegal.
If it is legalized I would think the price will go way down because everyone knows somebody that grows or sells it.
Corporations would be on it like flies on you know what. As would the middle men and tax men. I doubt after everyone gets their cut that it will be a cheap habit. Tobacco certainly isn’t anymore.
Anyone wanting to sell after legalization will need a license, or they would still face harsh penalties for dealing. Not many grow their own tobacco, though it’s somewhat more difficult…and not many will grow their own weed.
I smell a RAT…..AKA some out to save their own behind.
The wheels of society are moving forward, we need to make the politicians understand the need
to modernize and change some of our laws, to catch up. It is like we are stuck in neutral, spinning our wheels, jailing good people for nothing at all. If they added $300. to $500.00 a month social security, more could retire and open up some jobs, they could change the tariff policy and get some of our manufacturing back within our borders, this neutral is no doing anyone any good, the people have to be heard. We need to legalize and allow people to raise marijuana, some amount, they they be allowed to use it, free from harassment. We need to get moving again as a nation.
So they took the guys winter stash of smoke. I feel so much safer now. It’s not worth dumping so much money down a big hole black though.
because one person says something they now can get a warrent to search their house?seems like more needs to be known before being able to get a warrent to search someones home.I guess its a police state now.
A whole pound, good lawd! Must have busted Scarface and the cartel! Even had the Game Wardens in on it… LOL Maybe even clapping each other on the back tonight for a ‘solid’ bust, doing shooters of Wild Turkey and Bud drafts… Pretty good chance ain’t either of those people going to end up in jail for it, either, so it was a fools errand.
A whole pound of weed? I didn’t know we had a cartel in East Millinocket! lol. I am surprised they didn’t bring in the MDEA on this one. This is an awful big bust for local law enforcement to handle on their own. They probably had to act fast before they smoked up the evidence.
Lagalize and tax. Problem solved.
Tax all booze sold in bars at $1 a bottle or drink.. 50 each sold in stores, problem solved.
What’s your comment got to do with pot being currently illegal and therefore sold on the black market?
Waste of time and resources. Legalize it and have the government control and tax the quality and sales. Cartels and street thugs out of business. DEA gets more time to actually work on harmful drugs. A win/win situation.
WOW! What a great job by EMPD. They spent hundreds of man hours and thousands of taxpayers dollars to get a pound of dried up leaf off the streets. With all the crime in the world and bath salts, heroin, thieves, and child molestors you think they’d have plenty to do besides raid someones house for a little bit of pot!!
We need Twig back,a little common sense goes a long way……
Really?? A lot of turning the other way and a lot of nothing is what we got with Twig. Telling officers to look the other way as well? What the heck were we paying him and them for? Absolutely nothing most of the time and a lot of sleeping on the job the rest of the time. Thank God we have a chief that is trying to clean up the area and get rid of the drugs. Pot is a gateway drug so why not start with cleaning that up first and move on to bigger things as the info comes in? It is illegal plain and simple and I’m thankful for officers who do what they are paid to.
Big deal a pound of pot. Time to legalize and tax it. With the amount of money trying to eradicate pot and the income from the taxes,it would pay for everyone’s health insurance and insure Social Security for years to come. It’s time to wake up. Pot is a weed,Oxycodone is made by big Pharma. Do you think big Pharma is looking out for mankind or their wallets?
It is a start, now let us get the big guys. Though I did not know Officer Glidden worked in East.
Soon when you don’t know how to value the pot, you can use the newspaper ads in Colorado and Washington where you will likelybe offered a coupon for 10% off. Maine will pay to investigate. Maine will pay to prosecute. Maine will likely pay for each defendant to have a lawyer. Maine will pay to incarcerate. The tally could easily be 7- 10 thouand dollars if they get 30 days. Maine then pays probation costs. That same pound in Colorado, will result in 0$ spent by the state and the tax revenue collected could be 2-5 thousand. The total cost/loss for this one pound could approach 15 thousand. Meanwhile, this bust amounts to what can be grown on 2-big plants. Whether you agree with Colorado or not, is it the most cost effective way to deal with this? If Maine has 100,000 illegal plants and we bust them all at 15 thousand d a pair it comes to a loss of $75,000,000 annually.
do you know how stupid this even is…….arresting people for marijuana ……..what are we living in the stone age or something? what a terrible waste of police resources…….they should be watching the Riteaids for them pill robbers……before someone gets killed.
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This is a joke. Stop harassing people about this.
Why are we arresting people for having a usable amount of pot.
Police need to get real jobs! Now we have to pay to prosecute and possibly incarcerate those bad people! People who say we live in a free country have a bag over their heads.