BANGOR, Maine — Two New York men remained Friday night at the Penobscot County Jail unable to post $25,000 cash or $75,000 surety bail on drug charges after making their first court appearances earlier in the day at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
Ralph Green, 36, of New Rochelle, New York, and Jamal Webb, 36, of Brooklyn, New York, were arrested Wednesday night in Holden at a gas station. The vehicle was driven by Green, and Webb was a passenger, according to court documents.
Before the stop, agents with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency had obtained a search warrant for the vehicle. In the search that followed, agents allegedly found 308 oxycodone tablets and more than 40 grams of crack cocaine hidden in the vehicle’s air filter, according to court documents.
The men each were charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs and one count of trafficking in scheduled drugs, all Class A crimes, and one count each of possession of scheduled drugs, Class B, and possession of scheduled drugs, Class C.
Green and Webb were not asked to enter pleas to the charges because they have not yet been indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury. It is scheduled to convene Sept. 24. The men are due back in court on Nov. 5.
The arrest of the New York men along with the arrests of Dawn Crocker, 31, and Gordon Flynn, 42, both of Roque Bluffs, on Wednesday was the culmination of a two-year investigation into drug activities in Washington County, according to court documents. Crocker was charged with unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs, a Class B crime, and Flynn was charged with unlawful possession of a scheduled drug, a Class C crime, in Washington County Superior Court.
Information on when they made their first court appearances was not available late Friday.
The two men allegedly rented cars in New York and drove the 520 miles to Princeton, where they stayed with a local woman, bringing drugs to the area at least once a month.
Webb and Green and a third male, who was not named in court documents, usually brought an average of 400 grams of crack cocaine, 28 grams of heroin, 15 grams of MDMA, also called “Molly,” and 300 oxycodone pills, an informant told police, according to court documents. More recently, they allegedly brought methamphetamine to the Calais area.
The men generally distributed the drugs to local residents, who sold it to their customers in the area, the court documents said. The men usually stayed in the area for a week so the drugs could be sold. They allegedly would collect their money, then return to New York to obtain more drugs.
If convicted of the Class A crimes, the defendants face up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $50,000. Those charged with Class B crimes, face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000. The punishment for Class C crimes is up to five years in prison and fines of up to $5,000.
The arrests were the result of significant inter-agency cooperation among several law enforcement agencies, including the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Maine State Police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Holden Police Department and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, according to a press release issued Thursday by the MDEA and Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith.
The investigation is continuing and more arrests are likely, authorities said Thursday.