WOODSTOCK – Three convicted felons from Connecticut who are currently living in Woodstock were arrested on gun charges Saturday during an early morning raid, Bethel police Chief Alan Carr said.
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Tony Milligan arrested Peter Cardichi, 47, Michael Watrous, 29, and Michael Silvestri, 40, and charged each with possession of firearms by a prohibited person.
They were taken by Oxford County sheriff’s deputies to Oxford County Jail in Paris, booked and released on $200 cash bail each. Their arraignments are scheduled for mid-June in 11th District Court in Paris.
Carr said that in March, the drug enforcement agency and Bethel police began an investigation after receiving information about Watrous, who lives at 498 South Main St. in Woodstock with his mother.
Criminal background checks on him and other occupants of the household, Carr said, confirmed prior felony convictions, which prohibited the men from possessing firearms.
A nighttime, no-knock search warrant was granted, and at 4 a.m. Saturday, members of the Maine State Police Tactical Team, Bethel police, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and Oxford County Sheriff’s Office entered Watrous’ home.
In addition to nine rifles and shotguns and ammunition seized during the search, a small amount of marijuana, drug scales, drug paraphernalia and other evidence was seized, Carr said.
Gerry Baril, supervisor of the MDEA office in Lewiston, said Monday night that Watrous has a felony conviction for repeated offenses of operating under the influence; Cardichi has one for manslaughter, which was originally a murder charge; and Silvestri has a felony conviction for carrying concealed weapons, all in Connecticut.
Cardichi is from East Lyme, Conn., and Silvestri from Waterford, Conn. Watrous’ previous Connecticut address was not immediately available, Baril said.
“The investigation is continuing,” Carr said.
Comments are no longer available on this story