Somerset County sheriff’s deputies seized drugs, loaded guns, cash and a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee in a search Friday in Pittsfield.
The raid was carried out about 8:45 a.m. at the residence of Brian Leavitt and Ashleigh Richmond at 858 Main St., Pittsfield. With a warrant in hand, Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi II led a team of seven sheriff’s deputies and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agent assigned to the sheriff’s office. Officers from the Pittsfield Police Department also assisted with the search at the scene, according to a release from Sheriff Dale Lancaster.
Seized during the raid were several grams of Fentanyl powder, $2,995 in cash, a digital scale, an AR-15 rifle with multiple magazines, a loaded .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, an AR-style .22-caliber rifle, drug paraphernalia and drug-related documentation.
Leavitt, 30, was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in Fentanyl, a class A felony; and with possession of Fentanyl, class C.
Richmond, 26, was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in Fentanyl, a class A felony; and possession of Fentanyl, class C.
Additional charges might be forthcoming against Leavitt, Richmond and others once all of the seized articles are tested and weighed and the case is reviewed by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office.
Lancaster said the initial drug trafficking charge is elevated to a class A crime because of the loaded firearms. He said the presence of guns at an alleged drug trafficking location is especially troubling.
“It could be for protection or it could be because the individual is a gun enthusiast,” Lancaster said. “The point is that when deputies execute these search warrants, it has the potential to be a highly volatile situation.”
The arrests are part of the ongoing investigation of drug activity in and around Somerset County, he said.
Leavitt and Richmond are being held in lieu of $20,000 cash bail each at the Somerset County Jail. They are scheduled for their initial court appearances on Feb. 14 in Somerset County Unified Court.
Lancaster said that when Leavitt and Richmond were first taken into custody, they were returning home to Pittsfield from a methadone clinic in Waterville. While traveling back from the clinic, the pair allegedly sold Fentanyl to people in the Jeep, while armed with a loaded .40-caliber handgun in the Jeep.
“The loaded weapon was in the vehicle, so they both have the responsibility and thus are both charged,” Lancaster said.
While searching the vehicle, police noticed that a mileage reimbursement sheet was made out by Leavitt and Richmond, as the state reimburses mileage for going to and from a methadone clinic.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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