Cocaine bust nabs local man
Published on October 15th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - A 31 year-old Stoneham resident was arrested last week after an initial argument with his fiancee at Farm Hill Plaza turned into a school-zone coke bust for Stoneham Police after a search of his 2001 Yukon reportedly yielded roughly 63 grams of cocaine.
According to Stoneham Police sources, the plastic baggies of coke (a little over two ounces) have a street value of approximately $2,000.
"I'd say it was a good sized bust," said Stoneham Police Lt Rick McCarthy. "It's certainly in the trafficking realm."
William Gauthier, age 31, of 38 Valley Road, Stoneham, was charged with trafficking cocaine and illegal possession of drugs in a school zone.
According to Stoneham Police sources, any drug possession charge gets an additional school zone charge when the arrest is within 1,000 feet of any school zone.
The Stoneham Middle School stands across the street from the Farm Hill Plaza scene of the arrest.
According to Stoneham Police sources, it doesn't matter whether school is in session or not, any drug arrest near a school invokes the school zone charge.
According to Stoneham Police reports, several calls were received at 8:50 p.m. on Thursday about a loud argument between a male and female at Farm Hill Plaza. Stoneham Police responded to the scene and the male allegedly involved in the brouhaha, William Gauthier, consented to a search of his vehicle.
Officer Fucarile along with Sgt.'s McIntyre and O'Toole reported to the scene, and made the initial bust.
The search yielded two plastic bags of cocaine totalling 63 grams in the rear storage compartments, and Gauthier was placed under arrest.
"The threshold for trafficking cocaine is 14 grams, so this is significantly over that," said McCarthy. "A conviction could lead to a 5-20 year prison sentence on these charges."
Hours after the arrest, Stoneham Police obtained a search warrant to go through a Best Western hotel at 220 Alewife Brook Parkway in Cambridge reportedly rented by Gauthier, and recovered a second, much smaller amount of cocaine.
A complete search of Gauthier's vehicle at the Stoneham Police Station by a K-9 unit out of Medford led by Officer Femino didn't uncover any additional drugs.
Stoneham Police wouldn't comment on whether any additional charges could be stemming from the Gauthier arrest.
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