AUGUSTA — A 25-year-old Augusta man, involved in a fatal crash in Dresden earlier this year, has been arrested in Augusta on charges of unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, unlawful operation of a methamphetamine laboratory and endangering the welfare of a child.
Patrick Shorey
Patrick Shorey is being held on $10,000 bail at the Kennebec County jail.
The probable cause affidavit by Brian Wastral, an officer with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, says a search warrant for 171 Mount Vernon Ave. was obtained on Thursday as the result of a several months-long investigation of the illegal sale and production of methamphetamine.
On Friday morning, according to the affidavit, MDEA agents and Augusta police executed search of the two-story home, where they found several items indicating methamphetamine manufacturing was taking place, including pseudoephedrine blister packs, lye, hydrogen chloride gas generators and lithium batteries that were cut open, as well as a white residue that was suspected of being methamphetamine. In addition, they found about $1,200 in cash.
Because Shorey lived there with his wife and two children, he was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child. In the affidavit, Wastral said because through training and experience he knows the process of making methamphetamine is a chemical reaction that can cause fires or explosions that pose an immediate threat to anyone in the residence or surrounding area, he believes Shorey placed his children in danger.
Earlier this year, Patrick J. Shorey was identified as one of the drivers in a crash on June 6 on Route 27 in Dresden, just north of the Wiscasset town line, that killed Carolyn G. Blouin, 75, of Rockville, Connecticut, and injured her husband, 81-year-old Charles Blouin, a passenger in their Toyota Camry.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Blouin’s northbound car was struck by the southbound 2010 Chevrolet Malibu that crossed into her lane of travel. The Malibu was driven by Shorey.
After the crash, which was reported to police as a head-on collision, both men were taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta with what were believed to be serious injuries. Charles Blouin was treated and released from the hospital, while Shorey was listed in fair condition early the following week.
At that time, investigators were trying to determine whether speed, alcohol, drugs or distractions were factors in the crash.
Jessica Lowell — 621-5632
Twitter: @JLowellKJ
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