BREWER, Maine — The wanted man police were searching for at a Wilson Street motel on Friday invited them into the room, then took off running with heroin and cash in his pocket, according to Brewer police Cpl. Paul Gauvin.
Darren Seidell, 33, a Bangor transient, was quickly caught and charged with aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs after police found 2.1 ounces, or about 59 grams, of heroin in his pocket and just over $8,300 cash, the corporal said.
The bag of heroin was the size of a small baseball.
“Inside the motel room we found additional paraphernalia, what appeared to be materials to process narcotics,” Gauvin said, listing baggies and syringes as some of the evidence collected.
April Umble, 35, another Bangor transient who was in the motel room, also was charged with aggravated drug trafficking. She has a prior drug trafficking conviction from 2003, Gauvin said.
“It’s aggravated due to the amount, the weight of the drugs, and that they’re within a 1,000 feet from the school, possibly the high school,” the corporal said referring to the Apostolic Christian Academy and Brewer High School, both on nearby Parkway South.
All schools and parks in Brewer have a 1,000-foot designated drug-free safe zone, he said.
Seidell was indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury in July on charges of domestic violence assault, but he didn’t show up for court, so had two outstanding warrants for his arrest, Gauvin said.
“He’s got extensive criminal history,” the corporal said.
Shortly after moving to Maine from Florida in January 2012, Seidell was shot in the foot during a burglary in Eddington and was sentenced in June of that year to 2½ years in prison. Seidell broke into the home of his son’s grandfather hoping to steal photos of the boy, his defense attorney said at the sentencing. He also wore a ski mask and took jewelry, and when caught, he tussled with his son’s grandfather, who shot him in the foot, the prosecution said.
Seidell and Umble were taken to Penobscot County Jail where they remained Sunday. He is being held without bail and she has a $5,000 bail, a jail official said.
How Brewer police became aware that Seidell was staying at the Vacationland Inn was not released.
“We believe that is where he was selling his drugs,” Gauvin said. “He’d been there two days.”