Four people arrested in drug raid in Solon

SOLON – Three men and a woman were arrested Friday after police searched a Solon residence suspected of being linked to drug trafficking, officials said.

Cory Miller Somerset County Sheriff's Office

A team of five detectives and five deputies from the Somerset County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at Cory Miller's residence around 10 a.m., Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a statement released Monday.

The residence, described as a double-wide mobile home, is located at 1111 South Solon Road in Solon, court records show.

Along with Miller, 36, investigators arrested 32-year-old Derek Sicard of Ludlow, Massachusetts, and 47-year-old Sir Michael James of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on drug trafficking charges, Lancaster said.

Miller was charged with four counts of Class A aggravated trafficking in prescription drugs; Sicard was charged with six counts of Class A aggravated trafficking in prescription drugs; and James was charged with six counts of Class A aggravated trafficking in prescription drugs and misdemeanor tampering with evidence, according to prosecutors' complaints filed Monday in Skowhegan District Court.

Derek Sicard Photo by Somerset County Sheriff's Office

Each of the suspects was initially arrested Friday on two counts of aggravated trafficking in prescription drugs, Lancaster said.

As a result of the raid, Kaylee Cowan, 31, of Waterville was also arrested on a Kennebec County warrant for requesting revocation of probation, the sheriff said.

Inside the house, investigators found 457 grams of crack and 80 grams of fentanyl, Michael Lyman of the Somerset County Sheriff's Office wrote in an affidavit submitted to the court. The drugs have an estimated street value of $60,000, Lancaster said in his statement.

During the search authorized by the warrant, investigators found messages on Miller and Sicard's cell phones about the sale of the drugs, Lyman wrote in the affidavit.

In addition, investigators found alleged illegal drug proceeds valued at $18,000, a loaded 9mm pistol, and other drug-related items and documents.

Sir Michael James Photo by Somerset County Sheriff's Office

The search warrant was obtained by a judge after the sheriff's office spent a month investigating suspected drug trafficking activity at the residence, Lancaster said.

Investigators also believed the people in the house may be connected to a fatal traffic accident on the same roadway Aug. 7, Lancaster said.

According to the sheriff's office, a car driven by Rahaheem Friend, 33, who was reported as a transient from Skowhegan, crashed in the early morning hours near the intersection of South Solon Road, near Merrill Lane. Friend's first name is listed as Rhaheem in an accident report in the Maine State Police database.

The car passenger, Nicholas Foss, 38, of Madison, died at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

GPS mapping shows that 1111 South Solon Road is about 2 miles from the accident site near Merrill Lane.

Lancaster, who was reached by phone on Monday afternoon, declined to comment on the suspected connection to the crash and referred to an active and ongoing investigation.

The affidavits of the three people arrested for drug trafficking do not suggest any connection with the accident.

Kaylee Cowan Photo by Somerset County Sheriff's Office

The three people charged with drug trafficking were being held at the Somerset County Jail in Madison on Monday, according to Lancaster. They made their first court appearance in Skowhegan on Monday, records show.

Lancaster said bail was set at $100,000 each for Sicard and James and $25,000 for Miller. All three are due back in court in Skowhegan on Dec. 18.

According to criminal charges filed in Skowhegan, Sicard has a previous conviction for drug possession in Massachusetts, and James has a previous conviction for drug trafficking conspiracy in federal court in Vermont.

Cowan, who was arrested on a parole revocation warrant, was scheduled to be taken to the Kennebec County Correctional Facility in Augusta, Lancaster said.

Another person was in the apartment at the time of the search, but was not arrested, according to Lancaster's statement.

The Somerset County District Attorney's Office is investigating the case, the sheriff said.

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