Lebanon man charged with drug trafficking

FROM STAFF REPORTS

LEBANON — A Lebanon man was arrested Thursday morning and charged with selling fentanyl, a highly toxic drug often sold as heroin that can be fatal even in small doses.

Francis Sinclair, 61, 646 River Road, was arrested by a Maine State Police tactical team and charged with trafficking in Schedule W drugs, a Class B felony, according to state police.

For the past three months, drug agents from the MDEA York District Task Force have conducted an investigation into the distribution of heroin and fentanyl by Sinclair, including a number of undercover purchases of the drug from him at his home, state police spokesman Stephen McCausland said in a press release.

Around 4 a.m. Thursday, agents and troopers as well as three state police canine teams searched Sinclair’s home. Sinclair was located inside and arrested without incident, McCausland said.

A search resulted in the seizure of about 50 grams of a suspected heroin/fentanyl mix, the equivalent of 500 doses. Also seized were 11 firearms, about $2,000 in suspected drug proceeds, electronic scales and other evidence of drug trafficking, McCausland said.

Fentanyl is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, and is often mixed with or sold as heroin. Because of its potency, there is an increased danger of a drug user overdosing.

Sinclair was transported to the York County Jail, where bail was set at $25,000 cash.

Lawsuit over bear hunt referendum dismissed

PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s highest court has rejected a lawsuit stemming from a failed referendum to ban bear hunting techniques deemed to be inhumane.

Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting hoped to ban the use of bait, dogs and traps to hunt bears, but voters rejected the idea at the polls in November 2014.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife campaigned against the changes, and the group claimed the state’s campaign activities were illegal.

A Superior Court judge previously dismissed the lawsuit as moot. On Thursday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court agreed in a unanimous ruling.

Cops: 2 teens spray-paint swastikas

SCARBOROUGH

(AP) — Police say a pair of youths spray-painted swastikas and profanities on the driveway and garage door of a Maine home.

Scarborough police say the graffiti sprayed on April 3 didn’t target the family’s religious beliefs and isn’t considered a hate crime.

Police say the spray-painting wasn’t random.

Authorities did not identify the 16-year-old Windham girl and 17-year-old Old Orchard Beach boy who were charged because they’re juveniles.

Police say both face a felony charge of aggravated criminal mischief.

Scarborough police say the pair also spray-painted graffiti on a town-owned concession building at Wiley Field.

They are expected to be arraigned in a Cumberland County courtroom in late May.