N.H. pair suspected of drug charges arrested in Saugus

LYNN – Two New Hampshire men police said were stopped for speeding and found with 136 grams of cocaine and more than 50 pills were held on $2,500 and $5,000 cash bail, respectively.”Inside the bag I found a clear plastic bag containing what I believed to be crack cocaine,” Massachusetts State Trooper James Farrell wrote in a report. “Inside the bag was a black Gucci bag. Inside the Gucci bag I located two clear bags containing a white rock/powder substance believed to be cocaine.”The men were arraigned Friday in Lynn District Court.Robert Pierre, 33, of 43 Congress St. #1, Rochester, N.H., was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute Class B drugs, three counts; trafficking in cocaine; and conspiracy to violate drug laws; at 5:09 p.m. Thursday.James R. Ferguson, 22, of 144 Blackwater Road, Somersworth, N.H., was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute Class B drugs, three counts; trafficking in cocaine; conspiracy to violate drug laws; speeding; and a marked-lanes violation; at 5:09 p.m. Thursday.Pleas of not guilty were entered for each at their arraignments Friday in Lynn District Court.Farrell reported he was on Route 1 North in Malden on Thursday when he noticed a car traveling approximately 65 miles per hour (mph), about 15 mph over the speed limit. The trooper followed the car as it switched lanes several times and pulled into the Bob’s Stores parking lot in Saugus.Farrell reported two men were in the vehicle, and there was a strong smell of burnt and fresh marijuana coming from the vehicle. The driver’s eyes were “red and glassy and his eyelids were dark,” Farrell wrote. The passenger allegedly told the trooper he had no identification but was named Scott Pierre, was born in June 1985 and was 25 years old. Noting the math error, the trooper went to check the individuals’ records and called for backup when he noticed the passenger move out of sight.The passenger gave a new name and date of birth when the trooper and backup arrived, his behavior “getting nervous and agitated,” according to Farrell.Searching the car, police recovered a bag with 8 grams of suspected cocaine, two bags with suspected cocaine totalling 128 grams, 14 suspected Percocet pills; and a bag with five twists containing 10 pills each of suspected ecstasy, according to police. Police also reported finding an empty rifle case and a hatchet.Pierre, the passenger, reported the car was not his and he didn’t know anything about the bag of alleged drugs, according to police.The driver, Ferguson, said the same.Prosecutors requested each defendant be held on $10,000 cash bail at the defendants’ arraignments Friday.Judge Ellen Flatley ordered $5,000 cash for Pierre, noting he had previously been convicted of drug charges and had twice given troopers a false name.She ordered $2,500 cash bail for Ferguson, which he posted.Both are scheduled to return to court March 18.