WATERVILLE — Police arrested two men after seizing thousands of dollars in crack cocaine during a drug raid on Spruce Street Wednesday afternoon.
The raid at an apartment at 35 Spruce St. was the result of a four-month-long investigation by Detective Duane Cloutier, according to Detective Sgt. Lincoln Ryder of the Waterville Police Department. While executing a search warrant at the apartment, police found 40 grams of crack cocaine, $4,200 in cash, and drug paraphernalia, such as digital scales, pans and packaging.
The amount of crack cocaine found has a street value of about $6,000, Ryder said.
During the investigation, police allege they conducted multiple controlled buys from Alex I. Singleton, which led to the raid at his apartment, Ryder said.
Singleton, 36, was arrested during the raid on four charges of aggravated trafficking of scheduled W drugs and one charge of criminal conspiracy, as police believe more people are involved in the trafficking and expect to make more arrests, Ryder said. The drug trafficking charges are aggravated because the house on Spruce Street is 610 feet from the George J. Mitchell School and 330 feet from the park Dave’s Place, both designated safe zones in the city.
Drug offenses within 1,000 feet of safe zones are automatically elevated.
Singleton is being held at the Kennebec County jail on $60,000 single surety bail for the four Class A drug charges, meaning $60,000 worth of property must be put up as bail and not cash, as well as $5,000 single surety bail for the Class B charge of criminal conspiracy.
Police also arrested Stanley Fletcher, 28, of Watkins Street in Brooklyn, New York, on a charge of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, a Class A crime, and falsifying physical evidence, a Class D crime. Fletcher was charged with the lower class crime after police allegedly found him trying to flush the crack cocaine down the toilet during the raid, Ryder said. He is being held on a total single surety bail of $25,000.
The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Oakland Police Department assisted in executing the search warrant.
Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239
mstamour@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @madelinestamour
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