OXFORD — Police said Thursday that one of two homeless men arrested Wednesday following a routine traffic stop is a suspect in a statewide conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Charles McNeice, 46, was driving without a valid license and had been released on bail for a felony theft charge from York County, according to a news release from Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The passenger, Joshua Mershimer, 33, had an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to pay fines in Cumberland County. Both were arrested and transported to the Oxford County Jail in Paris, McCausland said.
McCausland said drug agents discovered methamphetamine powder inside the vehicle, which was stopped by Oxford police on Route 26 because it had no exhaust system. In the car, police found other items consistent with meth manufacturing, including pseudoephedrine, ammonium nitrate, sodium chloride and lithium, McCausland said.
Methamphetamine is a highly-addictive central nervous system stimulant.
After the arrests, agents searched two wooded locations in Gray, where they said McNeice and Mershimer allegedly tried to dispose of a bag containing chemicals used to make meth. The other spot had the burned out remains of a small meth laboratory. The items were collected as evidence.
McNeice, formerly from the Gray area, was charged with felony aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine and violation of conditions of release. His charges were elevated because of a prior felony drug conviction in Florida, McCausland said. McNeice was denied bail and is expected to make an initial court appearance Friday.
Mershimer, formerly from Portland, was charged with conspiracy to commit trafficking in methamphetamine. Bail was set at $5,000 cash. He is also expected to make an initial court appearance Friday.
Police said McNeice allegedly recruited homeless persons from the Portland area to return items to stores for cash, which were then used to purchase pseudoephedrine and other items required to produce methamphetamine. He is also a suspect in ongoing investigations into meth labs in Kittery and Pownal, they said.
Additional arrests are expected, McCausland said.
ccrosby@sunmediagroup.net
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