WILTON – Three were transported to jail, one on felony drug charges, and a fourth man was charged after local police made arrests at a local address Saturday after receiving information from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Davian Torres Rodriguez, 27 of Nashau, N.H., was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in a scheduled drug, a Class A felony, and unlawful trafficking in a scheduled drug, a Class B felony. Two other individuals were also placed in custody Saturday, with a fourth individual charged.
According to Wilton Police Chief Heidi Wilcox, on July 14 she and Officer Ethan Kyes received information from the MDEA regarding the suspected location of a felon involved in an ongoing drug investigation. That investigation, while not directly involving Wilton, had led MDEA to believe that the felon was staying at a residence on Masterman Avenue.
With Kyes acting as lead investigator, Wilton officers, a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit and state police went to the Masterman Avenue location Saturday. They did not locate the individual referenced by the MDEA investigators, Wilcox said, but they did locate Torres Rodriguez. Wilcox said that police found what they believe to be crack cocaine and heroin on his person.
The first trafficking charge is aggravated due to the presumed amount of crack cocaine allegedly discovered, Wilcox said, while the second trafficking charge relates to the alleged heroin. The substances will be tested to determine their exact composition and quantity.
Two additional people were transported to Franklin County Detention Center and another was charged in relation to the Masterman Avenue investigation. Heather Biedinger, 36 of Wilton, was placed in custody and held on a probation hold, while James R. Gilpatrick Jr., 48 of Jay, was arrested on an outstanding warrant by Maine State Police for unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. He was also charged with violating the conditions of his release.
Michael Mears, 31 of Jay, was charged but not arrested with violating the conditions of his release, a misdemeanor.
Wilcox said that the investigation of Torres Rodriguez is ongoing.
Glad they got them and hope they keep them all in jail and let them stay there for a long time
Great work..
NH, CT, MA, RI, NY, etc, is there some friggin’ reason these asshats can’t stay in their own state, as a taxpayer, I’m sick of taking care of them. Want to lower the opiate crisis and lower the drugs coming into Maine to some extent, vehicle searches, nobody comes in without getting their vehicle searched. Maine doesn’t have any coca fields, it doesn’t have any poppy fields, it doesn’t have any fentanyl production facilities. Use the same procedure the CBP uses, walk a dog around the car, dog gets a “hit” there is your probable cause to search the vehicle.
Great work everyone! Keep cleaning up the trash! Thank you.
Great work Wilton Police Chief and Officers of the force. No Swamp allowed in Wilton because we flush out the rats with hard working honest law enforcement. When you see one of our officers on patrol, give a wave and thank them for their courage and service to our community.
“nobody comes in without getting their vehicle searched”
While we might have an serious opiate problem in this state, we also have this little document called the Constitution. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? You should spend a little time reading the 4th amendment. A true American and patriot would never suggest a solution that blatantly violates the Constitution.
Thank you for working hard to get these people off the streets. There have been more than 5 overdoses in the Wilton area alone in the past 3 weeks. Most people in this community don’t realize that these have happened because they are considered “medical emergencies” which are protected by HIPAA (confidentiality). This needs to stop. How can we fight the opioid crisis if we don’t educate this community.
Elvis can sing and dance but not read… Apparently.
The suggestion was they get searched AFTER probably cause is established. (FIDO THE K9 smells it).
If you have a problem with that suggestion,, maybe you are hiding something?
If it was up to me I would let the dog take care of them on the spot if something is found… But even I agree,, we can’t be doing that. (Bet it would be a great deterrent though..).
Or,,,, we can do nothing.
Where would you like to place these road blocks with dogs sniffing for drugs? Route 95 as people drive into the state from Portsmouth? Along Route 1 right beside the 95 bridge? How about on Rt 2 or Rt 5? How many roads come into Maine from New Hampshire? What about waterways? It sounds like we will need to beef up our Maine State police force in order to implement this idea to stop these drugs from entering our state.
Of course we would then need to fund this law enforcement (Drug Prevention) program. Higher property taxes and increased sales taxes are the only way we can do that. I am certain that no one will object to those increases, because we can put a heavier burden on the tourists, right?
What about those tourists? Not a single one of them will complain about a long wait at the border for their turn to be subjected to this treatment. No, they won’t consider going to a different vacation spot next time. The Mainers who rely on these tourists dollars won’t lose their livelihoods because of this plan.
If you can’t hear my sarcasm, please read this again because I’m sure you missed something.
Let’s look at the problems that are causing drug addiction and address opioid addiction as an illness and as a social problem, rather than as a criminal one. When it comes to law enforcement, we should decide whether our justice system really provides justice. Should incarceration be a deterrent, or a place to rehabilitate people so they don’t return to a life of crime. Currently our justice system does neither. Look at the rates of recidivism and you will know that we are failing our citizens. Let’s come together as a society with different view points with different concerns and find a way to help one another. Eliminate the demand for drugs by eliminating drug addiction and you will find that the people who supply the drugs will not come here. Make our justice system one that rehabilitates and you will find fewer drug dealers out there.
I think it is time for us to become one society again, rather than fractured groups of people fighting one another.
Stopping every car that comes into the state is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard
TE, using a drug sniffing dog to detect drugs is already used by law enforcement all over the country.
TJ, If people really care about lessening the drug problems in this country, they should be willing to accept any measures that do just that. People don’t seem to have a problem with it at international borders.
I would much rather see our tax dollars go for a few more police officers than fund a useless drug rehab for a year.
TJ, eliminating drug addiction through rehabilitation will be funded how? Thinking that drug addiction can be eliminated is about as realistic as solving homelessness. Check out the big liberal metro areas like Seattle or San Francisco. Years, billions of dollars, no difference.
@heartless bstrd..The drug people from other states are coming here because there is a ready market in Franklin County. Exactly why they come here. You selling candy..you go where people buy candy..also if some of these people would work and be a responsible member of society..they wouldn’t have the time to be buying and using drugs..That’s a whole other problem..
“Use the same procedure the CBP uses, walk a dog around the car, dog gets a “hit” there is your probable cause to search the vehicle.”
A dog “getting a hit” is probable cause for getting a search warrant which is the better practice
Man, I hate to have to spoon feed this info to your red hats but please do some research before spouting off on topics you obviously have no knowledge about.
You can’t use a drug sniffing dog without reasonable suspicion. Using a dog to establish probable cause doesn’t work – you need a search warrant.
Let’s start with reading this. I know there’s a lot of big words but try sounding them out.
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/supreme-court-settles-latest-fourth-amendment-dog-sniff-case/
I certainly do not have all of the answers. What can tell you is that what we have been doing is not working. Some people have defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That is what we have been doing as a society for both drug dealers and those people who are addicted to drugs.
We cannot continue to expect the methadone or suboxone clinics to solve addiction. What I think we need to do is find out why those people are addicts. Are there untreated mental or emotional disorders? Are some of those people feeling hopeless and being shunned by society? If we address the needs of these individuals through counseling and appropriate prescription medication if needed, we may find that they don’t feel the need to turn to drugs. What I can tell you is that the way our society handles addiction, by ignoring it, sending people to jail, or sending them to rehab, does not work, has not worked, and will probably never work.
Regarding criminal prosecution, once again, what we are doing is not working. The recidivism rates in our country is over 70%. Rather than continuing to send people to jail over and over again we should try to find out why these people return to crime. Is it lack of education, or job skills? Perhaps they feel shunned by society as well. Maybe they try to “go straight” with a paying job, but cannot find employment that pays enough to support them. Maybe no one will hire them because of their criminal background.
How do we pay for the rehabilitation, the counseling, the education and/or job training? Redirect funds that are being paid today. I do not know the cost to keep a person in prison, but I’d be willing to bet that it is less expensive to provide support to that person and keep them away from crime and out of jail than it is to keep them in prison. The cost of healthcare for addicts is being paid for, to a large degree, by taxpayers through welfare programs.If we can focus on helping those people rather than just giving them a handout, I guarantee we will spend far less money in the long run.
As I stated earlier, I do not have all of the answers. But I know that collectively we could find and create solutions that will work if we were willing. Ask yourself, would you rather create walls all around you to keep the world out, or would you rather reach out to the world to help create something better.
The wonderful thing about living in America is that no matter what you chose, you have the right to voice your opinions.
So, when France was occupied by Germany during world war II people needed travel papers to move around the country. Basically, a system of checkpoints to look for traitors and spies. I am making an extreme comparison on purpose. Exile has it right. They come here because there is a willing audience. That is harder to solve because the cause of the demand is complex. A border check will not solve the problem as it does not go to the cause. Do we look to deport drug users to NH or MA? i can see that as the next dumbest idea ever.
TJ, I can tell you the experience of myself and family, addiction runs in the family. Us children used drugs to relieve the pain of having a crappy family. From my first drink I was an alcoholic. It worked, along with any other drug I could get, to escape. Until it didn’t work any more. Then I decided to turn my life around.
But saying we ” need a place to rehabilitate people ” and how to pay for it, then say ” or by sending them to rehab, does not work “. Which is it?
Some things just can’t be answered. Every one is different, they have their own set of issues.
What I have learned is, it starts with genetics, then the family dynamics, then the social interaction, then each person at some point make decisions and as such needs to either learn to live with those decisions, or expect someone else to ” fix ” it. Having tools to help a person crawl out of the hole of addiction is great but will only work if the person wants to crawl out.
I think one of the oddest things in society is that someone gets to decide what a person can put in their body, or control their mind with. As long as I am not hurting any body, or stealing, or driving, why shouldn’t I be able to shoot dope if I want to? Why is alcohol acceptable and heroin not?
The best thing I can do is take care of myself, my family and try to be a good example to the people around me.
I find that is better than telling some one what they should be doing or thinking, because that is none of my business.
Nicely put,BJB.
TE, Two words, exigent circumstances.
Stop providing Narcan and the market will shrink.
everybody knows what we have been doing is not working why not look to where it is working what are they doing we are not in the countrys where its working the reacuring theam is they stopped treating it as a leagal problem and started treating it as a medical one all we have to do is look outside the usa scottland the azores seem to be doing a better job than us current policy is a dismal failure here as for drugs comeing from out of state as long as its worth more here than there it will come you have a dam good game of wack-a-mole going there [take one out 2 or 3 pop up] gaining no ground spending more by the day way past time for a change
TJ,
Where are you basing your assumptions? According to Centers for Addiction control, AMA, CDC and EVERY evidence based study puts medication assisted 5 and 10 year success rates show unequivocally that. You are right that insanity is doing the same thing over and over. When have we ever solved any crime wave by locking people up?
Most all this stuff is Synthetic … made in a 55 gallon drum in someones garage in the big cities
they are making a killing in money off it – users are digging their faces off
Look them over in the police/jail log
No one wants to stop after getting started on it
I’m with Captain Planet. If we stop reviving people that don’t care enough about themselves or the family they are hutting let them go. People die every day not of their own choice these people made a bad one.
Let’s build a wall, separate families and deport them back to their own state?
I said this yesterday and still true today. Glad when I was weaned off drugs it was only crack/cocaine. As someone remarked above that much of the drug making may be made in a 55 gallon barrel that is barely resembled to the real drug. Its making people more addicted then ever. I have been to recovery meetings that folks are trying to get clean and its heartbreaking. I can see the addiction in their eyes. Man takes a drink(drug), then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes the man. The question should be is how can we teach children NOT to go down that easy path and made easier with new products everyday? ie flavored vapes? the new gateway drug.