LEWISTON – A teen-age suspect who was apparently under the influence of drugs escaped briefly from authorities after biting through a steel section of his handcuffs, police said.

“He was handcuffed, but he chewed through the chain and escaped,” said police Sgt. Michael Parshall. “He said he was going to jump off a bridge.”

Police received a call Sunday about an assault at a grocery store. Officers found the 17-year-old suspect combative and behaving erratically.

The youth, whose name was not released because he is a minor, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct. He was found shortly after his escape and taken back into custody. He was later taken to St. Michael’s Center, a home for troubled teens in Kennebec County.

Officer Jason Nadeau spoke to the boy’s parents and others to determine the cause of the youth’s strange behavior. Police learned that someone in the neighborhood may have provided the boy with the prescription anti-convulsant clonazepam marketed as Klonopin.

Possible side effects of the drug include aggressiveness, argumentative behavior, hyperactivity, agitation, confusion and depression.

Police questioned and arrested 22-year-old Matthew Campbell. He was charged with aggravated trafficking of a scheduled drug. The charge is considered aggravated because the drug allegedly was sold to a minor.

Campbell was being held at the Androscoggin County Jail on $440 cash bail.