GREENFIELD — Colleen James, 32, of Jaffrey, N.H., was arraigned in Greenfield District Court Friday following a September incident that found her possessing cocaine and heroin, which police say she intended to distribute.
According to a report written by Massachusetts State Police Trooper Peter McMahon of the Shelburne Falls barracks, he was off-duty in his personal vehicle in Holyoke at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 14, when he noticed a black Ford with a female driver and male passenger.
McMahon noticed two pedestrians, a Hispanic man and woman, approach the vehicle, which was parked at the corner of Dwight and School streets. According to his report, the man was carrying a black plastic bag, and he handed some items from the bag to the male passenger before shaking his hand.
Under the suspicion that he had witnessed a drug deal, McMahon briefly followed the vehicle, which entered the Interstate 91 on-ramp heading north, and alerted the other troopers.
Trooper Robert Wyckoff was monitoring interstate traffic in Hatfield when the vehicle passed him traveling at 57 miles per hour, according to his own report. Wyckoff stopped the vehicle in Deerfield for an obscured license plate.
James was driving with 33-year-old Michael Olmstead, also of New Hampshire, her passenger.
“James appeared extremely nervous,” Wyckoff wrote in his report. “Her hands were shaking and I could see her pulse throbbing in her lower neck area.”
According to Wyckoff’s report, James claimed she had gone to Holyoke Mall intending to get something for her children, but didn’t purchase anything. She denied being in downtown Holyoke.
A background check revealed James’ license was suspended and an ignition interlock — a device which prevents a vehicle from starting if the driver has been drinking — was required in her vehicle, which she didn’t have.
According to his report, Wyckoff asked James to get out of the vehicle and noticed old injection marks on the inside of her elbows. She denied using heroin, claiming she attended a clinic for addiction treatment. However, she admitted to having “about a half pack” — or 50 bags — of heroin in the vehicle’s center console.
Calling in assistance from two other troopers, Wyckoff pat frisked Olmstead, who admitted to having a hypodermic needle in his pocket. The pocket also contained torn wax baggies, Wyckoff’s report states.
Police found more needles in the vehicle, along with the heroin in bundles of folded wax baggies that Wyckoff believed was consistent with heroin packaged for sale. They also found six plastic bags with white powder that appeared to be cocaine, at which point James admitted to buying the drugs in Holyoke.
“She was crying and stated she was upset because she had bought the heroin in order to resell it to pay her storage facility bill,” Wyckoff wrote in his report.
James was issued a summons to appear in court Friday. Because Olmstead had a warrant for his arrest out from various motor vehicle violations, he was taken to the Northampton State Police barracks, where police found a bundle — 10 units — of wax paper bags containing heroin in his wallet and one bag with cocaine.
Olmstead was released on bail of $100, set by the overnight clerk. He was arraigned in September on charges of possessing Class A and B drugs, and conspiracy to violate drug laws. James was arraigned on charges of unlicensed operation, operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock, a plate violation, possession with intent to distribute Class A and B drugs, and conspiracy to violate drug laws. She will return to court for a pretrial conference Jan. 25.