MICHELLE M MCFAUN Arrest 

On October 15, 2015, I, Officer Tim Van Nostrand, was on duty and assigned to uniform patrol in marked cruiser East 1. At approximately 9:50am I was traveling through the Stop and Shop parking lot when I noticed a pickup truck parked along the fence near Cross Street East. The truck drew my attention because it was parked as far from the entrance of Stop and Shop as possible, the brake lights were activated, and it appeared the female operator was passed out behind the wheel.

 

        I parked my cruiser in a parking spot an aisle away, and approached on foot to check on the occupants. The female operator was asleep behind the wheel, and her foot was on the brake pedal with the keys in the ignition, and it was in the on position. The male passenger was also passed out, with a lit cigarette burning in his lips. His shirt was covered in ash, and had multiple holes, which appeared to be caused by burns.

 

        Once Officer Schneider arrived, I attempted to wake the operator by knocking on the window. She awoke slowly, and began to mumble her words. When she made eye contact with me, I observed her pupils to be pinpoint. Through my training and experience, I know this to be a symptom of being under the influence of a drug. The operator, later identified as Michelle McFaun, stated her and XXXXX, were just tired and taking a quick nap. They stated they were headed to a job in Melrose, and they were traveling from Melrose. When asked how they ended up in Somerville, McFaun stated she had to buy some stock for their HVAC company at a business on Mystic Ave in Medford. While we had this conversation, she spoke very slowly, mumbling at times, and appeared to have trouble keeping her eyes open.

 

        I asked her to step out of the vehicle, so that I could check her condition before I allowed her to drive away. After stepping out, I asked her to walk to the rear of the vehicle. She moved slowly, stumbling at times, and using the truck for balance. When I requested her license, she opened her purse and I observed her license to have a layer of white powdery film. In my training and experience, a layer of powdery film is found on cards that drug users snort crushed up pills off of. Located in the same wallet was a cut up straw, commonly used in the nasal ingestion of narcotics. McFaun first told me she has a valid prescription for Klonopin, however she does not have it with her. Later in the conversation, she told me the passenger of the vehicle, XXXXX, previously had a valid Klonopin prescription, but no longer does. Finally she stated that she gets a few pills here or there for personal use. She told me, this morning, she ingested a crushed up Klonopin in her vehicle while parked in the Stop and Shop parking lot, then proceeded to pass out.

 

        She gave me verbal consent to search her bag, in which I located a small plastic bag with 11 yellow pills, which I recognized as Klonopin, a Class C narcotic. Also located in the purse was a small prescription bottle, which the label had been removed. Inside of the prescription bottle were three plastic bags of the same variety the Klonopin was found in. Within one of the bags I located 2 and one half pink round pills, which I recognized as Adderall, a class B narcotic. I placed Michelle McFaun into handcuffs, and requested the prisoner transport wagon.

 

        I removed XXXXX from the vehicle and informed him as to the situation. XXXXX would not tell me anything about the pills except they obtain a pill here or there from friends. XXXXX did not know the name of said friends who they get the pills from. I searched the passenger compartment of the truck for further narcotics. I did not locate any illegal substances, but I did locate two more cut up straws.

 

        While waiting for the prisoner transport wagon, I was in possession of Michelle’s property, including her pink Iphone. The phone was receiving text messages. These messages were visible on the face screen, and the phone did not need to be manipulated in order to read these texts. The messages were drug related in nature. I seized the phone for further investigation.

 

        Officer Pavao transported Michelle McFaun to the station to be booked by Sgt. Fusco. While at the station, I informed Michelle of the suspicious text messages. I offered her the option of consenting to a search of the phone, or I would be applying for a search warrant. At first she stated no, but changed her mind and signed a consent to search form. Sgt. Whelan attempted to dump the contents of the phone, so the phone could be returned to her, however the information is encrypted, and Michelle did not provide the password. The messages that were visible appeared to be an agreement to transport and distribute a variety of drugs. At this point I secured the phone as evidence in order to apply for a search warrant to obtain the encrypted data.

 

        Based on the amount of cash, the text messages, and the number of pills, I am charging Michelle McFaun with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class C drug (Klonopin), and Possession of a Class B drug (Adderall). 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Officer Tim Van Nostrand

#293

Somerville Police Dept.