Franklin sweep results in 5 charged with felony drug crimes

FRANKLIN — Drug Enforcement Administration agents, along with local police, surrounded a foreclosed Park Street residence with guns drawn Wednesday morning, charging six people with drug felonies.

Each of those charged was living at 62 Park at the time of the raid:

Phil Bishop, 56, sale of a controlled drug. Court records show he sold $60 worth of cocaine, a felony, at 62 Park St.

Dalton Blake, 31, two counts of sale of controlled drugs and two counts of possessing a controlled drug. Court records show he allegedly had cocaine and methamphetamine, both felonies. Those records also show he is also facing three special felonies for three alleged sales. Two involved $100 sales, one of meth and one of fentanyl at 62 Park St., and also an alleged sale of $30 worth of fentanyl.

Hannah Gonthier, 29, two counts of selling a controlled drug.

Karen Mekkelsen-Weeks, 41, two counts of a sale of a controlled drug. Court records show she is being prosecuted for one charge, when she allegedly sold $220 worth of cocaine.

Thomas Sanborn, 37, sale of a controlled drug and possession of a controlled drug. He was charged with a felony for alleged possession of fentanyl. He also allegedly sold $30 worth of fentanyl at 62 Park, a special felony. Sanborn is also facing charges related to a warrant for shoplifting. Court records show he allegedly stole a candy bar from Cumberland Farms.

Nicholas Woods, 42, sale of a controlled drug. According to court records, Woods sold meth at 62 Park, a special felony.

Police Chief Dan Poirier said at 5:27 a.m. on April 1, officers closed an area “within a block” around 62 Park, including parts of Pearl Street. Poirier said officers and agents surrounded the house with guns drawn, and instructed people to come out through a megaphone. They all came out on their own, Poirier said.

“There were about 17 people who came out, and it took a while,” Poirier said. “They didn’t all come out at once.”

Franklin Police reported that “in the early morning hours” officers executed a search warrant for narcotics at 62 Park, following a “several-month investigation” into drug activity in the area. Poirier said the investigation involved controlled buys, and pertained to illicit drugs including fentanyl, meth, and cocaine. He said the investigation went for three to four months.

Poirier said no firearms and “not much money at all” were recovered. Only small amounts of drugs were seized in the raid, and he said Sanborn was also found with suspected fentanyl “concealed in his body” during booking.

At about 6 a.m. Wednesday, Franklin Police posted on Facebook there was an active police presence at Park and Pearl streets. They instructed people to avoid the area, and about an hour later they posted an update that normal traffic had resumed.

“We would like to thank the public for their consideration,” Franklin Police posted on Facebook.

The warrant was executed by the Franklin Regional Special Operations Unit, and was assisted by partner agencies including Andover, Alexandria, Bristol and Hill police, Salem Police K-9 unit, Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office and the DEA.

Poirier described 62 Park as a “flop house,” where people continue to “come and go,” even after it was foreclosed on. It's in a residential area, about a half mile from Franklin Middle School.

Poirier said the one-block radius was shut down so people could not be out walking around during that time period. He added police were aware of school bus times, leading to the timing of the warrant execution.

When Poirier was asked if he felt there was danger to the community, he said, “no more danger to the community than they have been in before.” He said with both drug dealers and users at the residence, there is the possibility of other dangerous crimes.

“The ones who were selling the drugs in that house were arrested,” Poirier said.

Drug sweeps are not new to the Three Rivers City. An operation of Franklin Police and the DEA took place Aug. 26-27, where 27 people were charged. Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget said it was an example of how federal and local law enforcement can come together to protect the community. In this case, it took multiple search warrants and many seizures of drugs.

During the August investigation, Franklin Police and the DEA posted photographs of large quantities of cash, drugs, and contraband. While mug shots were distributed to the press, no one charged was named.

It was reported the drugs seized in the August sweep included fentanyl and meth from Lawrence, Massachusetts. Kristen Govostes, public information officer for the DEA New England Field Division, said on Aug. 28 that “100-gram quantities of fentanyl and meth were seized.” Officials also said about $100,000 in cash, and a firearm, were seized.

However, Poirier said the April 1 effort was not related to the sweep in August. Govostes said the joint investigation is ongoing.

“All we can say at this time is that this is an active investigation with the DEA and Franklin PD,” Govostes said on Thursday.

Gonthier was released on Wednesday, but the five others were held and arraigned in Franklin District Court at 10 a.m. on April 2. Each of their charging documents are sealed.

Probable cause hearings for Dalton and Woods will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 6, at Franklin District Court.

Bishop, Mekkelsen-Weeks, and Sanborn are being held in Merrimack County Jail. They have probable cause hearings scheduled for 10 a.m., April 20, also at Franklin District Court.