WILTON — A Farmington woman is being accused of smoking crack cocaine in a pipe outside of a vehicle and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle while having a 3-year-old child in the backseat, according to police.
The car was parked Saturday night at the Dollar General store on U.S. Route 2.
A witness reported seeing the woman smoke something out of a thin pipe in the parking lot and informed police there was a child in the backseat. The witness also gave police the plate number.
Following an investigation, Wilton police arrested Michelle M. Belanger, 33, on misdemeanor charges of two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful possession of a scheduled W drug, crack cocaine, and refusing to submit to arrest or detention.
Officer Gerald Maccione responded at about 8:30 p.m. and said he watched Belanger touch the pipe. He called her over to his cruiser and saw Belanger reach back into her car, according to his police affidavit filed in a Farmington court.
She denied it was a crack pipe.
Maccione attempted to look in the vehicle by opening the door and Belanger became “irate” and blocked his view, according to the affidavit. He called for a K-9. A probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted. Police needed to detain Belanger by putting her in handcuffs. She actively resisted by grabbing the car window and not obeying commands.
The search of the vehicle found a crack pipe, an open container of alcohol, multiple plastic baggies and a container that had a white rock in it. The substance was tested and it came back as suspected cocaine base, which is crack cocaine. Belanger also smelled of alcohol when she talked, Maccione wrote.
A Jay police officer secured the 3-year-old child in his cruiser until the grandmother could arrive.
It was later learned by an officer talking to a third-party that a 1-year-old was left at home unsupervised. A family member secured the child at a Farmington residence.
Maine Department of Health and Human Resources was notified, police Chief Ethan Kyes said Monday.
Belanger was taken to the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington. She was released on personal recognizance bail Monday.
A conviction on each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.
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