Police have charged two individuals with drug and weapons offences after a 911 call reporting a running vehicle in the middle of a local intersection.
Around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 6, officers with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Patrol Services Unit and the Drug Enforcement Unit with were dispatched to the corner of Pine Street and Wellingon Street East where a vehicle was reported to be running and parked in the intersection.
Officers talked with the occupants of the vehicle and say the passenger was in possession of drug paraphernalia and a prohibited pocketknife. The passenger was arrested.
Police say the driver was a suspended and prohibited driver and was also charged in relation to the drug paraphernalia.
Police also say a search of the occupants and the vehicle turned up 39 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 27 grams of suspected cocaine, and 41 grams of suspected fentanyl. The estimated street value of the drugs seized is more than $23,000. Police also found loose shotgun shells.
Matthew Nieminen, 31, is charged with:
- possession of schedule I substance for purpose of trafficking (x3)
- careless storage of ammunition
- unauthorized possession of weapon
Nicholas Turmaine, 30, is charged with:
- possession of schedule I substance for purpose of trafficking (x3)
- careless storage of ammunition
- operation while prohibited
Both were held pending bail hearings.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and both are considered innocent unless proven guilty.