AUBURN — A Lewiston man and a Turner woman were indicted Tuesday on drug-trafficking charges following a three-month drug probe that turned up sales of crack cocaine and heroin.
Shauna Mercier Androscoggin County Jail
Antwan R. Gildersleeve, 35, and Shauna M. Mercier, 32, were charged with unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Mercier was also charged with two other counts of drug possession, each punishable by up to five years in prison.
Police said they seized $1,690 in cash, which they described as drug money. Prosecutors are asking the court that Gildersleeve be ordered to forfeit the money.
Antwan Gildersleeve Androscoggin County Jail
Drug investigators said their probe focused on a Lewiston apartment, where they believed drugs were being sold. They raided the apartment March 1, arresting three people, including Justin Wing, 33, of Auburn, who was charged with refusing to submit to arrest and unlawful possession of illegal drugs, both misdemeanors punishable by up to 364 days in jail. He pleaded not guilty last month, and is scheduled to be back in court in August.
In the March 1 drug raid, authorities seized 8 grams of heroin, 40 grams of crack cocaine and the cash from an apartment at 61 River St. in Lewiston, according to police.
Auburn police were assisted in the bust by Lewiston police and agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, as part of a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Task Force.
According to court documents, Auburn police learned in November 2018 heroin was being sold out of an apartment at 61 River St. in Lewiston. Using a confidential informant, detectives then arranged to buy crack cocaine.
Police said the informant was given cash with recorded serial numbers, and was wired with an electronic transmitter and audio and video recording device.
The informant then went to the apartment and bought crack cocaine, which the informant then turned over to police.
Over the next three months, police received complaints from residents about many people entering and leaving the building.
Authorities said they conducted surveillance on the building, at one point watching a man enter and leave the building over a five-minute period. Police later pulled over a motorist for failing to use his turn signal.
A passenger in the vehicle was the man who had been seen entering the River Street building. He agreed to be searched. Police found a plastic bag containing heroin, which he said came from the fourth floor of 61 River St. in Lewiston, according to police.
Police used that information to secure a search warrant for the residence.
Shortly before 4 a.m. on March 1, police executed the warrant. They said they found a plastic bag containing crack cocaine on a toilet seat, a powder suspected to be cocaine or heroin in the bathtub and a rock of crack cocaine in a pack of cigarettes, according to a police affidavit.
Police said they also found crack cocaine in a lip balm container in a bedroom and a digital scale.
Gildersleeve, who is being held at Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, is expected to be arraigned Friday at 8th District Court in Lewiston.
Mercier and Wing are free on bail.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.