GILL — A 40-year-old man has pleaded innocent to drug- and firearm-related charges after police say they located heroin, cocaine and ammunition in his possession after he was found nodding off in the middle of the road Saturday evening.
Dennis Arsenault was arrested after state police were dispatched to Riverview Drive for a report of an intoxicated male. According to a report by trooper Daniel Paras, police arrived at the scene and saw a Arsenault standing in the middle of the road facing the Connecticut River with his upper body leaning abnormally backward and eyes closed, as if sleeping while standing up.
Arsenault woke up to the sound of the cruiser door closing, according to the report, and told police he lives in Turners Falls and had walked there to look at the water and think. When asked if he had used drugs that day, Arsenault told troopers he had used heroin earlier, according to the report.
Paras noted in his report that Arsenault’s eyes appeared glassy and his pupils were extremely constricted, and he was unsteady on his feet, slow and lethargic. Police also observed what appeared to be a live, small caliber bullet in his ear, worn as a plug-style earring, which he told police was a way to gauge a hole in his ear.
Troopers located multiple needles sticking out of a partially opened leather pouch in his pocket, as well as a green vegetative substance consistent with marijuana, according to the report. Upon further inspection of the pouch, Paras wrote he saw a clear plastic bag containing a white powdery substance consistent with cocaine and a wax paper fold containing a small amount of tan powder consistent with heroin in the pouch.
A spoon and plastic cap containing a tan residue consistent with items used for intravenous drug use were also found, according to the report, and police located another live, small caliber bullet identical to the ammunition found in Arsenault’s ear. Both were identified as .25 caliber automatic ammunition.
Arsenault was placed into custody and began repeatedly hitting his head against the window of the cruiser while screaming, according to the report. He was transported to the state police barracks in Shelburne Falls for booking.
Bail was set at $500 cash and he was transported to the Franklin County jail. Paras wrote Arsenault had a prior guilty finding in Greenfield District Court from 2006 for possession of a Class B substance and does not posses a valid License to Carry or Firearm Identification Card.
He was arraigned on charges of possession of a Class A substance, possession of a Class B substance for a subsequent offense, possession of ammunition without an FID card and disorderly conduct in Greenfield District Court Tuesday.
Arsenault was released on personal recognizance following the arraignment and ordered to abstain from drugs with screens. He is due back in court July 6 for a pretrial conference.