Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

March 15

Winslow man charged with 10 counts of unlawful drug possession

Winslow police find crack cocaine, cash and hundreds of pills at the home of Casey Edward Bellows, 32, of South Pond Road Thursday

By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling mhhetling@mainetoday.com
MaineToday Media

WINSLOW — Police have charged a 32-year-old man with 10 counts of unlawful drug possession after finding crack cocaine, cash and hundreds of pills at his home on Thursday night.

Police kicked in the door of Casey Edward Bellows’s South Pond Road home at about 9:30 p.m., armed with a no-knock search warrant, Winslow Lt. Josh Veilleux said.

Bellows initially fled to his basement, locking the door behind him, but police used a battering ram to knock the door down, Veilleux said. When they found Bellows in the basement and ordered him to get on the ground, he complied, Veilleux said.

A female friend of Bellows was in the house but she was not charged, he said.

Over the next six hours, police conducted a search with the aid of a dog, he said, and confiscated about 650 pills, a shotgun and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Of the pills, 537 were muscle relaxant Flexeril. There were also 20 or fewer pills each of the sedatives Zolpidem and Ambien, a pain reliever Tramadol, blood pressure medication Clonidine, smoking cessation medication Chantix, and stimulants Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin.

Six of the drug charges are class E crimes, which carry a penalty of up to six months incarceration and a $1,000 fine. Four of the charges are class D crimes, which are punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $2,000 crime.

Veilleux said the charges against Bellows are the beginning of a renewed effort to combat illegal use of prescription drugs in Winslow, which he said has become increasingly prevalent over the last several years.

“We’re going to start getting aggressive on the drug dealing in Winslow,” Veilleux said. “Any time you can get drugs out of the hands of drug dealers, it’s always a good thing.”

Veilleux said Bellows posted $60 bail and left the Winslow police station at about 4 a.m. Friday. If he misses his May 7 scheduled appearance in the Waterville District Court, he will be charged $3,500, his unsecured bail amount.

Police got a warrant after a joint investigative effort with the Waterville Police Department and the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287
mhhetling@centralmaine.com
 

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