BREWER – Collaborations between Brewer police and local motels led to the arrest on Monday of a Hudson man on a charge of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs.

Brewer Sgt. Chris Martin said he found 2.4 pounds of marijuana, prescription painkillers and a loaded 9 mm handgun when he searched the car of Aaron Watt, 21, on Monday morning.

Watt has been charged with Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear on Aug. 20 in Penobscot County Superior Court.

After receiving information on Monday from motel personnel, Martin went to the motel and watched two men leave a room suspiciously, the officer said.One man, Norman Hightower, 22, of Bangor, had a small bag of marijuana on him, and Martin charged him with misdemeanor possession, he said.

Martin said he then waited at the front desk of the motel for Watt, who had rented the room Hightower had left. Martin said he spoke with Watt and asked if he had any drugs on him. Watt produced a small bag of marijuana.

“As I interviewed Watt further, I developed probable cause to search his vehicle,” Martin said.

Before Martin searched Watt’s Honda Civic, Watt admitted he had “about a pound” of marijuana and a loaded gun inside a backpack in the car, Martin said.

The officer’s search produced about 21/2 times the amount to which Watt reportedly admitted. Martin also found the loaded 9 mm handgun, electronic scales and lists of names and numbers that Martin called “business records.”

“Watt faces an aggravated charge based on two factors: that he had a loaded gun in close proximity to the drugs and that he was less than a thousand feet from a school,” Martin said.

Martin said the arrest wouldn’t have been possible without the close working relationship between his department and several Wilson Street businesses.

“We have a working relationship with city motels to make employees aware of behavior indicators to look for that are common in drug cases,” he said. “This was a simple case of that. The whole thing was a team effort.”

Officers Jeremy Upham and Ed Willey, Lt. Perry Antone and Detective Peter Rancourt assisted with the case, Martin said.