Augusta Police And MDEA Arrest 10 On Drug Charges In Major Bust

According to Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Augusta Police coordinated the arrests of two Augusta men and eight persons from out of state, on heroin and methamphetamine charges Wednesday . The arrests took place at the Penley Street house of 32-year-old Peter Gleason, following a police raid there late in the morning.Acting on information obtained during a drug investigation, McCausland said Augusta Police Detective Chris Blodgett obtained a search warrant for Gleason’s house at  1 Penley St. in Augusta. Late Wednesday morning, the Augusta Police Department’s Special Response Team, along with personnel from the MDEA, Kennebec Sheriff’s Office, State Police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began searching the house and seized approximately 45 grams of heroin and approximately five grams of a substance believed to be methamphetamine. The heroin has an estimated street value of $10,000.

Charged with Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin and Conspiracy to Traffic Heroin were Gleason and:

• Ricquell Lindo, 20 , of Stroudsburg, PA
• Tyshawn Mack , 21, of Stroudsburg, PA
• Nathaniel Taylor, 19, of Stroudsburg, PA
• Tyrone Wilkins, 23, of Stroudsburg, PA
• Darvent Cummings, 22, of Stroudsburg, PA
• Kenya Evans, 20, of Stroudsburg, PA
• Shaquanna Khaleelah, 18, of Mt. Pocono, PA
• and a 17-year-old girl from Patterson, N.J.

Charged with unlawful possession of Schedule W drugs and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia is Ryan Minoty, 21, of Augusta

Bail for Lindo, Mack, Williams and Cummings has been set at $50,000. Bail for Taylor was set at $25,000 and bail for Gleason, Khaleelah and Evans at $10,000.  Minoty’s bail was set at $1,500 unsecured, McCausland said.

According to McCausland, the investigation revealed that a number of those charged are members or are affiliated with a violent street gang known as the “Almighty Black P. Stones”, based out of Chicago.

MDEA Director Roy McKinney and Augusta Police Chief Robert Gregoire join in their concern about the prevalence of organized and often violent out of state drug trafficking organizations now operating in Maine, said McCausland. This investigation highlights the importance of focused, inter-agency cooperation on these types of investigations. Those who are unable to make bail will be arraigned Friday in Superior Court in Augusta. This investigation is continuing and more arrests are likely, McCausland said. Those who may have information about this investigation are asked to contact the MDEA’s Augusta office at 624-8980.