Trenton suspect facing federal drug, gun charges

BANGOR – A Trenton man alleged to be a major drug dealer in Hancock County was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on drug and gun charges.

Darrell W. Dolliver, 34, remains in Hancock County Jail awaiting trial on state charges. A date for his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Bangor on the federal charges has not been set.

Dolliver was indicted Tuesday on one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin and six counts of violating federal gun laws, including possession of stolen firearms, being a felon in possession of a firearm and using firearms in relation to drug trafficking. Seventeen different guns seized by police were identified in the charges.

He was forbidden from possessing firearms because he was convicted in 1999 in Hancock County of receiving stolen property, unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs and unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. The conviction stemmed from an incident in September 1998 when more than a pound of marijuana was confiscated from Dolliver’s car when he was stopped in Acadia National Park.

The federal and state charges stem from Dolliver’s arrest in September 2003 when police seized items allegedly traded for drugs that they found at two Ellsworth self-storage facilities. Among the items recovered were a church piano, a silver communion tray, two all-terrain vehicles, five plastic storage bins filled with sports trading cards, televisions, sporting equipment, an antique workbench, an air conditioner and a stuffed duck.

Hancock County Sheriff William Clark has described Dolliver’s alleged drug ring as a “pawn shop” type of operation. After Dolliver’s arraignment, the Sheriff’s Department took control of the two storage units and put its own locks on the units. Dolliver reportedly broke into the units in an attempt to steal back some of the items.

Dolliver also is charged with allegedly helping Southwest Harbor resident Stephen Hanson temporarily elude police in September 2003. Hanson, 23, was sentenced in May to four years in prison for helping to steal $35,000 in cash and checks in August 2003 from a Southwest Harbor convenience store.

Dolliver pleaded not guilty in December in Hancock County Superior Court to burglary, theft, criminal mischief, possession of drugs, driving to endanger, hindering apprehension, falsifying evidence and violating bail.

In a related matter, the federal grand jury also indicted Joshua D. Gabriel, 29, of Ontario, Canada, on one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.