In January, three men reportedly stabbed another man to death at a gas station after a cocaine deal went bad.

In July, an alleged dispute over drug money prompted a man to shoot an acquaintance multiple times in the head and dump the body in a ditch.

Just last month, a gun battle stemming from $7,500 in drug debts left two people dead and 40 bystanders scattering for cover in a parking lot.

These are recent examples of drug dealing and violence coming together. But while these homicides seem apropos of an inner city, they occurred in Maine where the violent crime rate consistently ranks among the nation’s lowest.

So far in 2007, Maine has had four killings directly related to drug dealing, the state’s highest total since 1980, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anne Jordan.

In her most recent online “Weekly Communicator” report dated Nov. 2, Jordan said that in combing through the last 27 years of homicides, it’s common to see one or two deaths linked to drug violence.

“But four cases in one year is troubling,” she wrote.

That total doesn’t include the latest killing earlier this month in the northern Penobscot County town of Prentiss, where a man allegedly admitted to police he was high on cocaine when he shot his friend.

In addition to that, Maine has seen an increase in other drug-related crimes that public safety officials believe have the potential for even more violence.

From 2005 to 2006, Maine’s overall crime rate rose 4.6 percent, the largest increase in a single year since the early 1990s.

Among the biggest jumps were robberies, 383 total, reflecting an 18.6 percent increase; burglaries, 6,776 total, a 7.9 percent increase; and thefts, 25,161 total, a 4.2 percent increase.

Those numbers aren’t broken down into violent and nonviolent offenses, but Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said the crime increases are “directly related to feeding Maine’s drug habits.”

While law enforcement personnel acknowledge the problem is worsening, no one seems to have a concrete way to address it.

“Our goal is to disrupt the drug market, that is to make it inhospitable for folks to traffic drugs in Maine,” Roy McKinney, director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, said recently. “But the market itself has changed so much across the nation that to think that we’re immune is unrealistic.”

Four and counting?

The subject of drugs and violence has been simmering beneath the surface in Maine for several years.

“It all started with the evolution of drugs,” Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross said in a recent interview. “And oftentimes drugs involve people with a propensity toward violence. We didn’t see a lot of these problems [with violence] before.”

The Maine Attorney General’s Office, which prosecutes a majority of MDEA felony drug cases, saw an all-time high of 649 cases for the 2005-06 fiscal year. In five years, the number has increased by about 50 percent.

Still, while the state’s drug trade has grown, drug-related homicides have been relatively rare. Until this year.

The incident that propelled the issue to the forefront was a wild gunfight in southern Maine that seemed more likely to take place in southern Los Angeles.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, outside a party in Saco, Andy Luong, 22, fired 15 shots from an AK-47 rifle at Seiha Srey, 24, who police believe owed Luong several thousand dollars in drug debts.

Srey, who was carrying a .45-caliber handgun, died from a gunshot wound to the head, but not before firing three shots back at Luong.

None hit Luong, but he later turned his rifle on himself after police officers surrounded him.

This summer, a homicide involving drugs rocked the rural Hancock County town of Amherst.

John J. Turner, 34, and Tad Howard, 27, both known drug dealers, according to police, were driving together on the night of July 8.

At some point, police believe, Turner shot Howard several times with a .45-caliber handgun and dumped his body in a ditch off a dirt road near Route 9.

Court documents revealed that Turner owed Howard an undisclosed amount of money and carried the gun with the intent of intimidating Howard.

Two more deaths in southern Maine early in 2007 – stabbings in Lewiston and in Sanford that were precipitated by drug deals – round out the state’s deadliest year for drug-related homicides in nearly three decades.

“In our investigations and searches, we always prepare for the potential of danger and violence,” McKinney said. “Obviously, it becomes much more serious when there is this resorting to actual use of deadly force by drug dealers.”

It’s not just deaths

While homicides generally garner most of the spotlight, Maine public safety officials said the marriage of drug dealing and violence extends further, as evidenced by the rise in robberies and burglaries.

“We’ve had instances right here in Penobscot County, not necessarily homicides, but with home invasions and armed robberies involving drugs,” Ross said. “I remember one case in particular that involved a spiked baseball bat.”

Lt. Tim Cote of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department said when deputies are called in on a drug seizure, they almost always find weapons.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, the MDEA initiated 850 investigations resulting in the arrests of 670 people, according to the Department of Public Safety. Seizures resulting from this enforcement activity included 117 firearms.

McKinney said the number of handguns in particular seems to be on the rise, likely because they are easy to conceal. Because of the value of the drugs involved, dealers often feel a strong need to protect their investments, he said.

“It’s not just the drugs; it’s the money associated with those drugs,” he said.

With the large number of weapons involved, some might wonder why there haven’t been more homicides associated with Maine’s drug trade.

“There’s a fine line between threats and actual violence,” Ross pointed out.

Assistant Attorney General James M. Cameron, who oversees prosecution of MDEA drug cases, said it’s probable that there have been “close calls,” but violence associated with drugs is usually specific.

“Dealers are most worried about other dealers stealing from them,” he said.

Lt. Cote agreed that much of the violence is between drug dealers.

“There is no honor among thieves, I guess,” he said.

It’s only a matter of time, police said, before more innocent lives are lost.

Convictions and treatment

Cameron indicated that more and more drug cases are being brought to court, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

“Yes, our number of cases has gone up considerably in the last five years. Does that mean there is more drug activity? Not necessarily,” he said. “My sense is that there is plenty of drug activity out there, but we’re now seeing a greater number of arrests.”

So, with more arrests and convictions, why the rise in violence?

Cameron said it might be the type of drug.

From an MDEA perspective, cocaine seizures have had the biggest increase because it’s abundant and cheap, and that trend is telling.

“There are more and more people coming into Maine from Massachusetts or New York, really for no other reason than to set up shop,” Cameron said. “These types of dealers are highly mobile, and they’re a real challenge for law enforcement.”

Treatment statistics also shed light on Maine’s drug problem.

Between 2000 and 2007, the Maine Office of Substance Abuse provided counseling to more than 78,000 individuals.

Alcohol still garners the largest percentage by far at 57 percent, followed by marijuana at 14 percent, synthetic opiates such as OxyContin at 13 percent, and heroin or morphine at 8 percent.

While alcohol and marijuana have held steady over the last several years, statistics show that heroin, cocaine or crack and opiates have increased significantly.

Still, there appears to be no correlation between violence and any specific type of drug.

“We deal with so many different types of drugs, so I wouldn’t say one type is more prone to violence,” Lt. Cote said. “Even marijuana dealers carry firearms.”

Guy Cousins with the Office of Substance Abuse offered statistics that show drugs don’t always equate to violence.

Fifty-one percent of the people in treatment in 2000-2007 had no legal involvement, while 25 percent had some sort of probation, and 12.5 percent were awaiting court proceedings. Fewer than 5 percent were actually serving prison sentences.

Those numbers seem encouraging, but they do little to diminish the gravity of the recent deaths.

Ross said he thinks the rise of another drug could spell more trouble in the coming years.

“Methamphetamine hasn’t taken over as much as we expect it to, but that [drug] usually comes with violence.”

How to reverse the trend

The gunfight in Saco and the shooting in Amherst happened so fast that public safety officials probably couldn’t have interceded.

McKinney said those incidents never should have gone that far.

“In Maine, we cherish the quality of life that we have here, and it’s a matter of containing those that would seek to change that,” he said. “We’re unique in that there is good communication among enforcement, treatment and prevention, and it really takes a balanced approach to treatment and enforcement. Could we do more? Maybe.”

In the wake of the four drug-related deaths this year, Public Safety Commissioner Jordan has asked the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency to work more closely with Maine State Police to eradicate the drug problem.

At the local levels, law enforcement agencies also have been pooling resources. Hancock County, for instance, features a multijurisdictional drug task force that Lt. Cote said has been a huge benefit.

“Having open lines of communication among the many different agencies and being able to share tips and data is crucial,” he said. “The more progress we make in eradicating drugs, the less violence we’re going to see.”

Ross agreed.

“We need to continue to be diligent in fighting drugs,” the Penobscot County sheriff said. “As law enforcement personnel, we’re treating the symptoms of the drug war, but policymakers need to know that things can, and should, be examined at the policy level.”

McKinney said there are plenty of penalties in place, such as mandatory minimums for drug convictions that involve firearms.

MDEA agents and others, however, can ensure those convictions only with adequate funding, and that’s always a concern.

“Federal funds have been decreasing, but the state has been good at making up that difference,” McKinney said.

“We see a direct correlation between the amount of drug activity and the amount of law enforcement in that area,” Cameron added. “It has to be consistent pressure and consistent funding.”

Everyone involved in the three-pronged approach of enforcement, treatment and prevention to combat Maine’s drug problem agrees the link between drugs and violence isn’t going away.

“I’m sure these aren’t the last shootings we’re going to see,” Ross said somberly.