RUMFORD – One of two Rumford brothers arrested Friday afternoon and charged with selling cocaine near a local school, posted $10,000 cash bail Saturday morning to gain release from Oxford County Jail in Paris, a jail official said Saturday.

Edward Towers, 41, will be arraigned sometime next week in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris, along with James Towers, 40, who remained behind bars Saturday afternoon due to a probation hold.

The brothers were arrested at their home at 66 Wyman Hill Road following a seven-month investigation into the distribution of cocaine in the greater Rumford area, according to Rumford police Chief Stacy Carter and Detective Lt. Mark Cayer.

Edward Towers faces charges of aggravated trafficking in Schedule W drugs, a Class A felony, and criminal conspiracy. James Towers was charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in Schedule W drugs.

In a news report late Friday afternoon, Cayer said the charges are considered aggravated, because the drugs were sold within 1,000 feet of St. Athanasius and St. John Catholic School, which is at 126 Maine Ave.

Additionally, he said, the conspiracy charge was leveled against Edward Towers for his leadership role in what police called the “Towers Cocaine Trafficking Network.”

Cayer said investigators believe the Towers’ network is responsible for distributing tens of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine in the Rumford area since this summer alone. After additional evidence is analyzed, others associated with the network are expected to be arrested.

The arrests of the Towers stemmed from Thursday’s indictments by an Oxford County grand jury of the brothers on the same charges. Detective Sgt. Daniel Garbarini and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent Tony Milligan presented to the grand jury, evidence summarizing their joint investigation that involved months of surveillance and undercover cocaine purchases, Cayer said.

At 11 a.m. Friday, the MDEA, Rumford police and U.S. Border Patrol officers served an agency-obtained search warrant at the Towers’ home at 66 Wyman Hill Road in Rumford, to look for additional evidence pertaining to the ongoing cocaine trafficking activity, Cayer said.

Police confiscated $4,000 in cash, prepackaged marijuana and cocaine, firearms, and several documents, which, police say, support the criminal conspiracy.

Additionally, Rumford police believe they’ve seized nearly $10,000 in drug money from the Towers’ network, Cayer said.

In October, Rumford Patrolman Matthew Noyes stopped a vehicle for speeding in Rumford. Inside, Cayer said, were two people who had with them, several thousands of dollars and drugs believed to belong to Edward Towers.

Earlier this year, another $3,000 was seized during another traffic stop from a person whom police believed to be working for the elder Towers, Cayer added.

Bail conditions on Edward Towers are that he not use or possess drugs, submit to random search and tests at the request of police, and have no contact – directly or indirectly – with any of the state’s witnesses in the case against him.

James Towers, who was on probation when the offenses happened, will have the same bail conditions as his brother, whenever he is allowed by a judge an opportunity to make bail, Cayer said.

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