HOULTON, Maine — A local man was arrested and charged on July 25 with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after police investigated a report of a suspicious vehicle parked near an intersection in town.
The charge was filed against 38-year-old John Martin of Houlton after Houlton police officers Travis Smith and Jasmine Cyr came upon a Dodge Caravan at 11:23 p.m. on July 24 parked with no one inside on the shoulder of the road at the intersection of the McSheffrey and B Roads.
The officers waited by the side of the road to see if anyone returned, and more than an hour later, a blue GMC pickup truck pulled up beside the minivan, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Bangor by Timothy Kenty, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Martin was driving the truck, which was registered to him, with a female in the passenger seat. According to the affidavit, Martin was holding a plastic bag that he refused to hand over to the officers and that he threw when they tried to take it from him.
Martin was subsequently removed from the truck and handcuffed.
The officers found two pistols and two rifles in the back of the truck as well as about 300 rounds of ammunition and they recovered about $1,990 in cash from Martin and the vehicle.
After he was secured, Martin told the officers, “I got guns in the truck, eh. Or a pistol, yeah,” according to the affidavit.
Kenty reported that the contents of the bag that Martin threw tested positive for methamphetamine, with the drugs weighing approximately 22.5 grams.
The ATF agent indicated in the affidavit that based on his training and experience “22.5 grams of methamphetamine is greater than what a user commonly possesses” and “is consistent with the distribution of methamphetamine. I also know that firearms are tools of the trade in narcotics trafficking.”
The court document also stated that the Houlton officers found a tin hidden in the female passenger’s pants that tested positive for methamphetamine weighing about 4.8 grams. The document did not name the woman or indicate whether she was charged.
Kenty could not immediately be reached for comment and Houlton Police Chief Tim DeLuca said Tuesday that he could not provide any information as the case remained under investigation.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, Martin remained at the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton.
