Lewiston man arrested in attack Woman suffers numerous injuries, reportedly in dispute over OxyContin

LEWISTON – A Lewiston woman who was attacked with a crowbar in a dispute over the painkiller OxyContin suffered injuries to her head, face and leg, and also had to have her finger amputated.

Dorothy Treadwell, 48, was recovering at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center on Wednesday, while her assailant who lived in the same apartment building was held at the Androscoggin County Jail.

The dispute erupted Tuesday when Treadwell accused Cleve Herrick, 42, of stealing her OxyContin prescription and selling it.

A verbal argument escalated into a shoving match before Herrick began hitting Treadwell with a crowbar, police said.

A neighbor said he saw Treadwell stumble from the apartment holding the crowbar, with her face and coat covered with blood. Police arrived moments later and arrested Herrick.

Herrick faces a charge of elevated aggravated assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. He is expected to make his initial court appearance this week in Lewiston District Court.

OxyContin, a prescription painkiller, has been a growing source of violence in Maine in recent years, police said. Those who use it illegally scrape away the time-release coating, providing an effect comparable to a heroin high.

There is also a high profit margin for sale of the drug. Investigators said the street value of OxyContin is $1 per milligram.

“There’s addiction to the drug, and there’s an attraction to the big profit,” said Maine Drug Enforcement Agency supervisor Gerry Baril. “It’s a very dangerous drug if it’s misused.”

The maker of OxyContin, which is being abused from Kentucky to Maine, announced last month that it is developing a new version that would not produce the “high,” making it useless to abusers.