BENNINGTON — The break up of a house party on Main Street in Bennington in the early morning hours of Dec. 21 has led to the arrest of five people and the issuance of warrants for three others for drug and alcohol-related offenses.
On Dec. 23, police requested and received arrest warrants for eight of the 10 people found at a house party at 7 Main St. that took place on the night of Dec. 20 and into the morning of Dec. 21. Police allegedly discovered underage drinking and evidence of drug use while executing a search warrant at the residence, after receiving a tip about a possible party with suspicious activity, according to a press release issued by the Bennington Police Department on Friday.
Brittany Robichaud, 20, and Devin Dame, 20, both of Bennington, who live at the house where the party took place, have been arrested and charged with illegal possession of alcohol, illegal possession of a controlled drug, believed to be marijuana, controlling a premise where drugs are located and facilitating an underage alcohol or drug house party. Both were arrested on Dec. 23 and released on $2,500 personal recognizance.
Taylor Cross, 18, of Antrim, Alan Fox, 18, of Temple and Nathaniel Cross, 20, of Hancock have also been arrested. They were all charged with illegal possession of alcohol and released on $1,000 personal recognizance.
All five are scheduled to appear at the 6th Circuit Court in Hillsborough on Feb. 14 for arraignment. Police have three more arrest warrants for others who attended the party, said Police Chief Steve Campbell in an interview Friday.
At 11:45 p.m. on Dec. 21, the Bennington Police Department received an anonymous tip about a possible party at 7 Main St. across from the Bennington Country Store. Police went to the house and, although they did not see anyone in the area of the residence, they could hear people and could detect a strong odor of what they believed to be marijuana coming from inside the house, according to Campbell. Police knocked on the door but there was no answer, so police applied for a search warrant, which was granted, to enter the residence and look for suspected drug activity and underage drinking.
With assistance from Antrim and Hancock, police entered the residence at about 1:15 a.m. on Dec. 22, and discovered 10 people inside, only one of whom is 21. Police detained all 10 people and conducted a search of the house.
"We got lots of evidence out of there," said Campbell. "Alcohol, drugs and paraphernalia. They had hard liquor and beer, cups of beer in every room and a lot of marijuana."
According to Campbell, along with more alcohol than could reasonably be for the single legal occupant of the house, there were multiple pieces of drug paraphernalia, including a marijuana pipe, a grinder with marijuana in it, two glass bongs and a scale.
Campbell said police also found several hand-rolled cigarettes filled with what is believed to be marijuana, as well as bags of a drug believed to be marijuana in several locations throughout the house, including the kitchen, living room and a bedroom. There was also evidence of attempts to flush drugs down the toilet, according to Campbell. "There were marijuana seeds and marijuana leaves floating on the surface of the water," he said.
The state lab has not yet confirmed the amount of drugs collected from the scene, Campbell said. The amounts were consistent with personal use, he noted.
Police did not make any arrests at the scene, said Campbell, but removed all evidence and collected personal information, which was later used to apply for arrest warrants.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She's on Twitter at @AshleySaari.
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