AUBURN – A suspended drivers license led to more serious charges for Lewiston man Saturday.

Maine State Trooper Perry Michaud decided to check a car’s license plate when the driver turned into Auburn’s Exit 75 Park And Ride at about 7 p.m. Saturday and then quickly exited.

The registered owner, Paul Pinette 36, of 164 South Ave., Lewiston, had a suspended license. When the trooper tried to pull the car over, the driver turned into the Irving Maineway on Route 100.

Trooper Michaud arrested Pinette at the gas station on charges of driving with a suspended license, then found a plastic bag containing 4.3 grams of cocaine hidden in a binocular case.

A drug-sniffing dog later found another 2.4 grams of cocaine in a bag under the driver’s seat.

Pinette was charged with operating after suspension, trafficking in cocaine, a scheduled drug, and violation of conditions of release, stemming from a prior OUI arrest.


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