Rochester bust nets 'whole spectrum' of illegal drugs
What started as a traffic stop ended with drug charges against a Swansea man, and the seizure of an array of drugs that ranged from anabolic steroids to LSD, Rochester police said.
On Thursday, Oct. 3, police received a 911 call reporting an erratic motor vehicle operator on North Avenue at approximately 2:40 a.m.
Officers Shaun Peterson and Adam Brightman stopped a silver Hyundai fitting the description provided by the reporting party. The officers noted the vehicle was damaged.
Officers questioned the operator, 23-year-old Mark A. Chagnon of Swansea, and determined he may have been under the influence of alcohol. A number of sobriety tests were administered, which Chagnon failed, according to police.
During a search, officers found a pipe they believed was used for smoking marijuana.
When asked, Chagnon admitted he smoked marijuana throughout the day and crashed into a cement post earlier that night, police said.
When officers searched the car, they found steroids, heroin, mushrooms, ecstasy, methamphetamines, LSD, and cocaine, in addition to digital scales, razor blades, plastic bags, a syringe, and a dietary supplement often used to dilute certain illegal drugs.
“This is by far, the widest assortment of drugs I’ve seen confiscated from one individual. Usually, suspects will have one or two types of drugs, but this guy covered the whole spectrum,” Rochester Chief of Police Paul Magee said.
Chagnon has been charged with: operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol; operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs; leaving the scene of an accident; open container of alcohol in a vehicle; possession of a class C substance with intent to distribute; possession of a class E substance; possession of a class A substance; possession of a class B substance; and three counts of possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute.
Chagnon was held at the Rochester police station and arraigned in Wareham District Court on Oct. 3.