BANGOR, Maine — A Hancock man arrested at a local motel Tuesday on several warrants has been charged with drug trafficking, according to an official with Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Peter Chiumiento, 25, is facing a Class B felony charge of trafficking in heroin, MDEA Commander Peter Arno indicated Wednesday in a prepared statement. The arrest warrants that initially led to his being taken into custody Tuesday at a motel on Odlin Road include failure to appear in court on a traffic violation and on drug possession charges, violating conditions of release and failure to pay fines for a disorderly conduct conviction, according to the statement.
Chiumiento came to the attention of police and MDEA agents as part of an ongoing investigation in the distribution of heroin in Hancock County, Arno wrote in the release.
“It is believed that Chiumiento has been selling heroin out of a room at this motel for the past several days,” Arno wrote. “At the time of his arrest outside the motel room, Chiumiento was found to be in possession of nearly $3,000 in cash.”
The name of the motel was not identified in the release.
After taking Chiumiento into custody, police obtained a search warrant for his room at the motel, which was executed Tuesday evening, Arno added.
“The search yielded several grams of heroin and other evidence which indicated that Chiumiento was trafficking drugs out of the room,” the MDEA commander wrote.
Chiumiento is being held at Penobscot County Jail on $10,000 cash bail. If convicted of the Class B drug trafficking charge, he faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
In May 2013, Chiumento was charged with terrorizing and driving to endanger for allegedly threatening a woman and her family from behind the wheel of his car in Deer Isle. Chiumiento’s criminal history also includes charges of theft and possession of drug paraphernalia, dating to 2008.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and Bangor Police Department have assisted MDEA in the ongoing heroin trafficking investigation and more arrests are likely, Arno said.
