OXFORD — A Standish man was charged with heroin possession after police found him semi-conscious in his vehicle at the Oxford Casino on Saturday night.

Michael J. Lafollette, 32, is accused of possessing illegal drugs and violating probation.

According to Oxford police Chief Jon Tibbetts, officers responded to the casino on Route 26 after security officers reported an unresponsive person in a parked vehicle.

“When officers got there, he was coming down from his high, basically,” Tibbetts said.

According to Tibbetts, Oxford officers found four grams of heroin in Lafollette’s vehicle, along with drug paraphernalia.

Police didn’t know if Lafollette was coming into the casino or leaving, Tibbetts said. He said there was no indication that Lafollette was distributing the drug.

“We’ve had other drug issues up there, but nothing like that,” Tibbetts said.

In the past few years, the area has seen an increase in heroin as a cheaper alternative to abusing pharmaceutical pain-killers like oxycodone, Tibbetts said.

“It’s cheaper,” he said. “Oxycontin is going for $1 a milligram, so if you have an 80 milligram pill that’s $80. You can get a nickel bag of heroin for $20.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Lafollette remained in the Oxford County Jail in Paris awaiting a meeting with his probation officer, according to a jail representative. He is due to appear in court later this week. 

pmcguire@sunjournal.com

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