Former UM student faces campus drug charges

ORONO – The first charges have been filed against a former University of Maine student who has been accused of running a drug laboratory and distribution center for hallucinogens and several other illegal drugs out of his dorm room, officials said Monday.

“We made a decision to proceed with what state charges we could consistent with our position that drug cases are especially harmful to our community,” said Chief Noel March of the University of Maine Department of Public Safety. “They were two of the more minor charges relative to the serious federal charges still pending.”

Scott C. Turner, 20, of Rockport was issued summonses early last week on charges of possession of a usable amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, March said. Turner’s initial court appearance on the two charges will be May 17 at 3rd District Court in Bangor, and they will be handled by Penobscot County District Attorney Christopher Almy.

“He’ll either pay a fine or plead not guilty and ask for a trial,” March said.

Additional state charges also may be filed by the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office pending the outcome of continuing state and federal investigations, March said.

Almy was not available to comment on the likelihood of additional state charges or the amount of fines that would be levied against Turner should he plead guilty.

Members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the University of Maine Department of Public Safety found what was believed to have been a drug lab in Turner’s third-floor room in Hancock Hall, Room 362, on the University of Maine campus in Orono on April 3 after receiving an anonymous tip.

March said officials believe they found psilocybin mushrooms, a hallucinogen, in the room. Officials are awaiting the results of tests to identify a white powder found in the room. Additional tests on other unidentified substances also are pending.

An unidentified person began the chain of events by slipping an anonymous note under the door to the room of a dormitory staff member, March said. Part of the handwritten note stated: “Who wants to live in a drug dorm?!? Why doesn’t anyone do something? Isn’t that illegal? Mushrooms being grown in a whole set up in room 362!”

March praised the tipster.

“There’s drug involvement that we still don’t know about in this community, but hopefully with the cooperation of the students and staff, such as we’ve seen here in this matter, we can seriously impact illegal drug use here at the city of UMaine,” March said. “I applaud what this person did and anyone can come to us anonymously or confidentially. We can’t do this without the students and staff.”

Officials arrived at the Hancock Hall residence just after midnight April 3 and remained in the room for nearly 16 hours to execute two search warrants for drug manufacturing, distribution and possession, March said.

For several hours, officials in hazardous material protection suits removed unidentified chemicals from the building, March said. At one point, students in the wing were sent from their rooms for several hours while the items were moved.

Officials declared that the building was safe later that afternoon and allowed the residents back into their rooms on the rear wing of the third floor.

Turner, who was present while government officials searched his room, was not arrested, but likely will be federally indicted for the cultivation and distribution of illegal drugs after the completion of lab tests on the substances taken from the room, March said.

“The rest of the charges could take awhile,” March said. “There is a substantial workload for drug testing facilities and it may take awhile to get everything processed.”

Calls to Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Perry about the status of the federal case were not immediately returned.

University officials previously charged Turner in December 2000 for illegal possession of a usable amount of marijuana, March said. School officials also charged him with illegal possession of alcohol by a minor in September 2001.

A decision by the school’s judicial affairs committee to suspend Turner from university property on April 3 was upheld in an appeal on April 12, March said. Turner was allowed back on campus with a police escort around midnight Saturday, April 6, to retrieve personal items from the room.

Attempts to contact Turner on Monday were not successful.