FARMINGTON — A convicted drug dealer was gellin' like a felon after police said they found 14 grams of cocaine in his shoes during a search at the police station.
William J. Tardif
William Tardif, 42, of Livermore went to the station late Saturday afternoon to obtain papers on a non-drug related incident, said Gerry Baril of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. He did not know the exact nature of Tardif's business with the police department.
Baril said Tardif had served time in federal prison for cocaine trafficking and was on supervised release when arrested Saturday.
MDEA agent Brian Ross was working a shift for Farmington police and recognized Tardif as a convicted felon and became suspicious of his behavior.
Baril said Ross contacted Tardif's probation officer, Matt Brown, who said Tardif was subject to random searches and prohibited from possessing cocaine. He authorized Ross to search him and his vehicle.
When Tardif took off his shoes and moved them away with his feet, Ross got suspicious and found plastic bags of powder in them that looked like inserts, Baril said.
He described the bag containing 12 grams of cocaine as looking like a plastic sandwich baggie filled about one third full, but flattened to look like an Odor Eater insert.
"In this case, instead of having an insert, he had a baggie filled with cocaine," Baril said. He said shoes are not an uncommon hiding place for drugs such as cocaine and heroin. "It's not something that's new. It's not an unusual place to search. It's pretty typical."
Tardif was arrested on a felony charge of aggravated trafficking of illegal drugs. The charge was aggravated because of the prior convictions, Baril said.
The trafficking charge stems from the cocaine being found bagged and apparently ready for sale, said Bonnie Pomeroy, Farmington Police secretary.
Tardif was scheduled to appear in court Monday but Baril believes the federal probation service will also seek action for revocation of his bail because of the violation of his bail terms. He is being housed in Somerset County Jail on $10,000 cash bond or $100,000 surety.
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