By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

TURNER – A husband and wife were arrested on cocaine trafficking charges Wednesday, after a car chase, a cloud of powdered coke spilling onto Route 4, and marijuana found stuffed in a bra, police and drug investigators said.

Jarrod Sawyer, 32, and Karen Sawyer, 27, were each in jail Thursday on a slew of charges stemming from the afternoon chase that started at the Northland Plaza.

Police said the two have homes in both Buckfield and Lewiston and that each suspect had been free on bail from other drug charges when they were nabbed on Wednesday.

It began about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when police and drug agents began staking out an area at the Northland Plaza on Route 4.

An informant had told Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigators that the Sawyers would be delivering an ounce of cocaine to that location.

MDEA agents were joined by officers from Maine State Police, Androscoggin and Oxford county sheriff’s offices and a probation officer as they waited for the pair to arrive.

At the time, Jarrod Sawyer was wanted on two warrants – one from Androscoggin County, one from Oxford County – that charge him with cocaine trafficking. Sawyer was also on probation from a previous federal firearms conviction, according to MDEA Supervisor Gerry Baril.

While police waited, Jarrod and his wife arrived at the shopping plaza in a white Chevrolet Blazer. But as drug agents approached the vehicle, Sawyer took off again, speeding down Route 4 toward Buckfield. State police and Androscoggin County sheriff’s officers began to follow the Blazer, which stopped a short distance away.

“He went just far enough to dump out two sandwich baggies full of cocaine,” Baril said. “The driver’s side of the Blazer had white powder all over it. It later tested positive for cocaine.”

Police also braved Route 4 traffic to recover the sandwich bags, Baril said. Residue inside also tested positive for the drug.

The couple were arrested on the spot for several drug charges. Karen Sawyer was additionally charged when jail officials said they found marijuana stuffed in her bra as she was being booked. That resulted in a charge of trafficking in prison contraband.

Jarrod Sawyer was charged with two counts of cocaine trafficking from the warrant and a third for the incident at the Northland Plaza, and charges of eluding police, falsifying evidence, and violating conditions of release.

In addition to the prison contraband charge, Karen Sawyer was also arrested on charges of trafficking cocaine and violating conditions of release.

MDEA agents also searched the Sawyers’ homes at 44 River Road in Buckfield and 282 Lisbon St. in Lewiston, as the investigation continues.

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