Robert Strout
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
ORIENT — Maine Drug Enforcement Agency officials arrested three individuals, including one charged in connection with a triple homicide case in Amity last year, and charged the trio with drug offenses.
According to MDEA Division Commander Darrell Crandall, Craig Strout-Desmond, 24, and Brianna Bonness, 24, both of Ellsworth were arrested Aug. 3 by agents. Strout-Desmond was charged with trafficking in oxycodone, a class B offense. Bonness was charged with possession of drugs and violation of conditions of release. She was on bail for a charge of attempted burglary.
On Thursday, Robert Strout, 64, of Orient, whom Crandall listed as Strout-Desmond’s grandfather, was arrested and charged with aggravated furnishing of oxycodone, a Class B crime. He was also charged with violation of conditions of release. On Sept. 10, 2010, Strout was charged with hindering apprehension and arson for his alleged role in helping conceal evidence in a homicide investigation.
As of Tuesday morning, Strout remained in the Aroostook County Jail.
Craig Strout-Desmond The arrests came following a lengthy surveillance through rural northern Maine, Crandall said.
On Wednesday, a state trooper relayed a tip to MDEA agents that Strout-Desmond and Bonness were leaving the Ellsworth area with the intent to pick up prescription drugs they would later sell. MDEA agents located the pair and followed their vehicle from Ellsworth, into Bangor, and north on Interstate 95. They left the interstate at Lincoln and traveled back roads through Penobscot and Washington counties before stopping at the residence of Robert Strout in Orient.
The vehicle was followed back to Ellsworth where it was stopped and searched at around midnight. MDEA agents seized 170 tablets of the prescription painkiller oxycodone from a plastic bag in the center console of the vehicle. The drugs are valued at about $3,400.
Later Thursday, MDEA agents went to Strout’s home in Orient and following an interview, agents developed evidence that Strout had furnished more than 150 tablets of oxycodone to Strout-Desmond on at least five separate occasions.
Brianna Bonness
Bonness was released with a summons, while Strout-Desmond was taken to the Hancock County jail. His bail was set at $2,500 cash or $5,000 surety. Strout was taken to the Aroostook County Jail where his bail was set at $5,000 cash. If convicted of the drug offenses Strout and Strout-Desmond both face up to 10 years in prison.
Strout was arrested last summer for hindering apprehension and arson in connection with a triple homicide in Amity. In that case, Thayne Ormsby, 21, of Ellsworth was arrested and charged with the stabbing deaths of Jeffrey Ryan, his 10-year-old son Jesse, and Jason Dehahn.
MDEA agents were assisted in the investigation and arrests by the Maine State Police and the Ellsworth Police Department. Anyone with information on drug crimes may call MDEA, toll free, at 1-800-452-6457 or may go to the MDEA website: www.maine.gov/ dps/mdea.
