IN WATERVILLE — A woman who has been living in Waterville but has no address is scheduled to be in court in March to answer to drug trafficking charges after police stopped her Monday on Kennedy Memorial Drive and found crack cocaine in her vehicle and on her person.
Marie Rose Towers, 38, was arrested around 10 a.m. and charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs, one count of class B unlawful trafficking in drugs, operating after suspension and violating conditions of release, as she was free on bail conditions at the time, according to Deputy Chief Bill Bonney, of the Waterville police.
Bonney said Tuesday that Towers had been the subject of a police investigation for about two months before her arrest, and police had conducted controlled “buys” of crack cocaine from her during the investigation.
“Yesterday we received information that she was driving a vehicle in Waterville and her license is suspended, so they (police) located her and stopped her on KMD,” Bonney said. “She was very slow to pull over, during which time they believe she was concealing drugs on her person.”
A state police drug detection canine was requested because police suspected Towers had drugs, he said.
“They obtained a search warrant for her and her vehicle and were able to find 1.5 grams of crack cocaine in the vehicle and 4.2 grams on her person,” Bonney said, adding that Towers eventually voluntarily produced the drugs.
The street value of the crack cocaine is $570, according to Bonney.
He said Towers has an extensive criminal history as well as a prior conviction for possession of drugs.
“She’s a known drug user and there was paraphernalia in the car that was consistent with drug use,” he said.
Bonney said Towers was taken to the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta because she has three active sets of bail conditions.
“Because of that, she was unable to bail,” he said.
Towers is scheduled to appear March 26 in Kennebec County Superior Court.
The Waterville police log lists “transient” next to a listing for her address. Bonney said he was not sure where she has been staying in the city.
“We find they couch surf a lot, so I think that’s probably what she was doing, was couch surfing,” he said. “I don’t have a specific location for her.”
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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