Caribou police have arrested a man on drug and firearm charges following a traffic stop.
Neal Marshall, 38, whom police identified as unhoused and from central Maine, was charged on June 5 with possession of cocaine, fentanyl, hallucinogens and prescription pills, and with having a firearm he was not permitted to have, the Caribou Police Department reported Tuesday.
Officer Kevin St. Peter was patrolling near the Access Highway at around 1 a.m., police said. He noted a car that had been previously associated with a wanted person and followed the vehicle to try to see who was in it.
The car turned suddenly into a driveway, and St. Peter stopped the vehicle. As he went up to the car to talk to the occupants, he observed Marshall in the backseat with drug packages on his lap in plain sight, police said.
Marshall had additional drugs and cash on him, and more drugs and a 9 mm handgun were found inside the car. More than $1,500 cash was also seized.
Police took Marshall to the Caribou Police Department, where officers discovered he was on probation. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of schedule W drugs cocaine and fentanyl, and possession of hallucinogens and prescription pills.
The firearms charge is a class A crime, for which he could face up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine if convicted. The cocaine and fentanyl charges are class B crimes, for which Marshall could face up to 10 years incarceration and a $20,000 fine.
Marshall is being held at the Aroostook County Jail.
