Bangor man dies after drug arrest Attorney general, other state agencies investigate 20-year-old’s death

ELLSWORTH – The death of a Bangor man who was hospitalized after being arrested on drug charges is being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office and other state agencies, according to police.

Robert Dembek, 20, was arrested Saturday afternoon on charges of aggravated trafficking in drugs and possession of drugs and taken to Hancock County Jail, Ellsworth police Lt. Harold Page said Monday.

Dembek, who reportedly told corrections officers at the jail that he had ingested a large amount of drugs, died Monday at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after he was taken off life support, according to Hancock County Sheriff William Clark.

Clark, in a prepared statement, said Monday that Ellsworth police allegedly found cocaine, heroin, a large amount of cash, three syringes and a loaded 9 mm handgun with Dembek when he was pulled over on Bucksport Road.

Four hours after his arrest, while still in the jail’s booking area, Dembek started convulsing and then was transported to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, Clark said in the statement. Dembek then slipped into a coma and was transported to the hospital in Bangor, according to the sheriff.

By midmorning Monday, Dembek’s condition had worsened, the statement indicated. Dembek was taken off life support and soon died, the sheriff said. Dembek’s body has been taken to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta for an autopsy.

The incident was classified as a death while in jail custody and is being investigated by the Maine Department of Corrections, Maine State Police, the Attorney General’s Office and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, according to Clark.

Clark could not be contacted directly Monday evening.

According to Page, Dembek allegedly had more than 7 ounces of cocaine and between 30 and 40 bags of heroin with him when Ellsworth police received a complaint Saturday afternoon that Dembek was driving erratically and had made an improper pass on Bucksport Road. A juvenile girl was with Dembek at the time of his arrest but has not been charged in connection with the incident, he said.