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Rochester Police Captain: 'I would have called MSP'

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The baggie of suspected heroin stayed lodged in this sign under the watchful eye of a Lebanon resident till MSP arrived. (Lebanon Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - A Rochester Police captain said today that there have been several times that people have come over into East Rochester with drugs found just across the border in South Lebanon and turned them over to Rochester Police.

The comment from Rochester Police Capt. Gary Boudreau came in the wake of a story in Thursday's Lebanon Voice which reported that a Lebanon man who found suspected heroin near the Milton line had been told by Milton Police he could be arrested when he walked the heroin over to Milton and notified police he wanted them to come and get it.

Milton Police told him to take it back to Lebanon and turn the drugs over to Maine State Police, which he ultimately did.

The man who found the suspected heroin, Bruce French, said he didn't want to wait for Maine State Police to arrive, knew Milton Police were by far closer and was frustrated that Milton Police wouldn't take possession of the drugs, themselves.

Boudreau noted that there are problems with jurisdiction between New Hampshire and Maine, but when individuals in the past have brought drugs to turn over to police in East Rochester, jurisdiction was no longer a problem and Rochester Police took possession of the drugs.

Boudreau said it's a safety issue.

"We don't want someone throwing it back on the ground and leaving it for a child to possibly find," he said today.

Boudreau said if he was asked by a Lebanon resident to come pick up a baggie of suspected heroin, he would call Maine State Police and ask them if they were in the area and could expedite taking possession.

"If they said they weren't I'd ask them if they'd want me to go over (to Lebanon) and get the drugs," he said. "If they said yes, I would. That's how I'd handle it."

He added it's important to get the drugs off the street as soon as possible.

French said he found the discarded plastic baggie filled with heroin at a canoe launch area at the bottom of Prospect Hill while taking his dog for a swim Wednesday morning.

After French heard that Milton PD weren't coming, he walked over to the New Hampshire side of the Garage Way bridge.

When he called Milton Police, however, Chief Richard Krauss said he could be arrested for bringing drugs into the state and to return immediately to Lebanon, which French did, ultimately waiting for MSP for about an hour and a half.

Maine State Police Trooper Rick Spicer arrived to pick up the suspected heroin around 1 p.m., having been held up a little by a car accident at the corner of Center and TM Wentworth that took down some utility lines.

Spicer thanked French for guarding the illegal drugs and told bystanders to always be extremely cautious if they find suspected illegal drugs, noting that fentanyl and other substances added to the drug can harm individuals just by touching them.

Boudreau echoed Spicer's warning, urging citizen who find any suspected drugs not to touch it but call police immediately.

Meanwhile, Krauss, reached Wednesday afternoon for comment, said he was sympathetic with French's situation, but reiterated that he can't bring drugs he found in Lebanon into Milton. Asked if he would've arrested French if he had been caught with drugs in Milton as a result of the incident, he said, "I can't answer that question. I told him it was a crime. I understand he's getting impatient, but he can't cross into a state with drugs he found in a different state. I told him he had to wait for Maine State Police at that point."

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