WEST PARIS — Two men were charged with aggravated drug trafficking Friday night on Route 26 after they were pulled over for a seat belt enforcement detail.
Samuel G. Hooker, 32, of Boston was charged with aggravated drug trafficking, aggravated furnishing of scheduled drugs and illegal importation of scheduled drugs. Bashir A. Jama, 32, of 78 Maple St. Apt. 34 in Lewiston, was charged with unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs.
According to a report by Jason Wing of the Maine State Police, police were stopping every car looking for seat belt violations and vehicle defects when a vehicle driven by Jama pulled up. Wing wrote that there was no inspection sticker and the vehicle smelled of marijuana.
Wing said Jama denied having marijuana, then said his passenger, Hooker, had been smoking. Wing said he helped Hooker out of the car and into his wheelchair. Police found a bottle of Vicodin on the passenger’s side, and Hooker eventually admitted to having crack cocaine hidden in his underwear.
According to the report, marijuana and an object Wing believed to be cocaine were found in Jama’s pocket. Jama, who told police he didn’t know Hooker and picked him up in Oxford, was charged under the accomplice clause, Wing wrote.
On the way to the jail, according to Wing, Hooker admitted he had been transporting crack from Massachusetts to “a few locations in Maine including Rumford.”
Hooker’s bail was set at $10,000 cash or $50,000 property. Jama’s was set at $1,000 cash or a Maine pretrial services contract. On Tuesday at their initial hearing, defense attorney Maurice Porter said Hooker is on federal probation and may be on a federal probation hold.
Both men are due in Oxford County Superior Court on Sept. 4.
treaves@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
