Multiple containers of crack cocaine and fentanyl were allegedly found inside the home of a man who wanted to create a homeless commune in Bradford.
Michael Tuller, 74, was arrested Wednesday at his home on Maple Street in Bangor. Richard Lee, 26, was also arrested. Tuller is charged with one felony count each of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs and unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs in Penobscot County Superior Court.
Tuller’s arrest comes about two years after he purchased 35 acres of undeveloped land in Bradford to create an area where people who are homeless could live. In October 2023, Bradford residents approved a moratorium that temporarily prohibited Tuller and others from building rooming houses, shelters, campgrounds and tiny home parks in the town.
Tuller’s home on Maple Street is about 946 feet from the Fruit Street School, according to the police report in the court file. That means the house is in the “safe zone” around the school and makes the drug trafficking an aggravated offense, the report said.
When Bangor police raided Tuller’s home, they found numerous containers full of white rocks, as well as a container full of plastic bags with white powder inside. Those substances were very likely crack cocaine and fentanyl, the police report said.
Two plastic bags with likely crack cocaine and an electronic scale with white residue were found in Tuller’s bedroom, the report said. There was also a metal container with more white rocks.
Police found a .22-caliber sawed-off rifle in Tuller’s home, which is a federally prohibited weapon, the report said. The gun was seized by police.
At least 6 grams, or more than 270 individually divided bags, of fentanyl were seized by police, according to court records.
Bangor’s code enforcement placarded the residence and outbuildings, the report said. A placarded home is deemed unfit for people to live in. Versant turned off power to the home as well.
Tuller is being held in the Penobscot County Jail. He was granted a $35,000 bond, which he has not posted.
Correction: An earlier version of this report misstated the type of gun police seized from Tuller.