A Canaan woman arrested in September on suspicion of using Waterville hotel rooms to store caches of illegal drugs has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Toni D. Juliano, 30, who was initially held on state charges, entered the pleas in U.S. District Court in Bangor and is being held in federal custody awaiting sentencing.

Juliano pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of cocaine base and an unspecified quantity of cocaine that occurred Sept. 6, 2017, and to possession with the intent to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl and unspecified quantities of heroin and cocaine that occurred Sept. 27, 2017.

The two charges each carry five-year minimum, mandatory prison terms and a minimum of four years of supervised release.

Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. also entered a preliminary order for the forfeiture of $38,222 in cash that was seized when Juliano was arrested on Sept. 27, 2017. Woodcock’s order says he concluded it was related to the crimes.

Juliano is represented by attorney Walter McKee. The prosecutors are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel Casey and Donald Clark.

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The prosecution alleged that Juliano rented hotel rooms by the day in Waterville, where she stored the drugs that she sold in the local area. When she failed to re-rent a room on Sept. 6, 2017, hotel personnel went to her room, saw the drugs and other drug paraphernalia and called police.

On the second charge, police obtained a warrant to search another hotel room that Juliano was renting in Waterville, as well as her vehicle and an associate, Ambrose Wan, 32, of New York City.

Juliano and Wan were arrested Sept. 27, 2017, by Waterville police as Juliano was dropping Wan off at Walmart. Wan fled on foot, but was caught by officers shortly afterward, Waterville police said.

Wan remains behind bars at the Kennebec County jail in lieu of $150,000 bail, which has a condition that he remain in Maine. Police said he is charged with three counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs and one count each of conspiracy to commit trafficking, unlawful possession of drugs and operating without a driver’s license.

During an initial appearance hearing for Wan at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta, the state prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Tyler LeClair, told a judge that police located 109 grams of fentanyl, 97.2 grams of cocaine, 75.9 grams of heroin and suboxone strips, drug paraphernalia and the cash when they searched the couple’s Waterville hotel room on Sept. 27, 2017.

Juliano was reported to be going through detoxification and was too ill to make in initial appearance two days later in state court.

Juliano had pleaded guilty on July 27, 2017, in Augusta to a charge of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs and was scheduled for a sentencing hearing on Nov. 6, 2017, at the Capital Judicial Center. She was free on post-conviction bail, with a condition prohibiting her from possessing drugs, when the drug cache was discovered in her hotel room.

 


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