A police raid at a home in Standish led to three arrests and the seizure of drugs and an arsenal that included a stolen pistol and a sniper rifle that's capable of piercing police body armor.
Chief Deputy Kevin Joyce of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office displays weapons seized during a drug raid in Standish at a news conference in Portland on Monday.
A .22 caliber handgun with the serial number scratched off was among the weapons seized during a drug raid in Standish on Monday. Three men were arrested.
Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion said anonymous tips from residents who feared the men living at 450 Richville Road – Route 114 – prompted a four-month investigation that culminated with Monday's no-knock search.
"Our investigation revealed that these individuals were involved in the sale of heroin, crack cocaine and marijuana," Dion said of his department's investigation with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Members of the sheriff's tactical team burst into the house at 7 a.m., while the men were still asleep. One of the men turned loose a pit bull, which police said they had to shoot.
Another man was seen tossing a gun and drugs out a window, police said.
Police charged Dale Porter, 50, with trafficking in marijuana; Jesse Porter, 18, with possession of a stolen handgun, reckless conduct with a firearm and possession of the drug ecstasy; and Dale Swasey, 25, with possession of cocaine.
Jesse Porter is the son of Dale Porter, who has a conviction on his record for drug trafficking.
The Porters were held in the Cumberland County Jail on $10,000 bail each. Swasey's bail was set at $250.
Police said they are still searching for another suspect, Emille Quimby, 34, of Steep Falls, who is wanted on two counts of trafficking in crack cocaine.
People reported being frightened of the men, who they said were selling drugs in parking lots, Dion said.
"The evidence here suggests maybe their instinct was correct," Dion said of residents' concerns.
At a news conference Monday afternoon at the sheriff's office, police displayed the items they had seized: four long guns, four handguns, a semi-automatic machine pistol, four pounds of processed marijuana, dozens of ecstasy tablets and $4,700 in cash.
The guns, found near the drugs, apparently were the men's protection against their customers.
"These were not leaning in the closet waiting for deer season to start," Dion said.
One of the handguns had a serial number that was obliterated, which is common with stolen guns, police said.
Chief Deputy Kevin Joyce said the most troubling of the guns was a military-style rifle that is powerful enough to penetrate an officer's protective vest.
MDEA Agent Scott Durst said the weapon appears to be Russian-made and is similar to rifles he saw while he was fighting in Iraq.
Dion said the arrests show that drugs, including crack cocaine, aren't strictly an urban problem.
Police shut down Route 114 during the raid, slowing morning rush hour traffic.
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