Camp ‘squatter’ faces heroin charge

A Springfield man is facing drug charges after police say they caught him squatting at a camp in Mt. Holly.

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Camp ‘squatter’ faces heroin charge Rutland Herald | July 08, 2017 By GORDON DRITSCHILO STAFF WRITER A Springfield man is facing drug charges after police say they caught him squatting at a camp in Mt. Holly. Miles P. Odonnell, 28, pleaded not guilty Friday in Rutland criminal court to a felony charge of possession of heroin and a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine. If convicted, he could face up to six years in prison. He was freed on an unsecured $1,000 appearance bond. Police said they were contacted by the owners of the camp, located off Route 155, who said they had found a man squatting there. The owners said their son first saw Odonnell when he stopped to check on the camp, and they later went there and found a truck with a camper blocking the driveway and garbage littered around the site. Owner Moira Armstrong said she then encountered Odonnell, who she knew by the last name “Fairchild,” according to court documents. She told police he had gone to school with her son and that they had called police to have him removed from the camp before, when he had been selling drugs there. Police said they went to the camp and found Odonnell asleep inside the camper with drug paraphernalia and two pit bulls. Odonnell claimed to have permission to be at the camp, police said, but was unable to produce the Facebook message in which he said it had been granted. He told police he was becoming “dope sick,” according to affidavits, and told them, “I’ll let you search my vehicles if you let me do my dope before you arrest me.” Police said they declined the request and instead sent Odonnell to Rutland Regional Medical Center while they applied for a search warrant. The truck on the property was towed to the Rutland County Humane Society, where the dogs were removed, and then to the Vermont State Police barracks, where it was searched, according to affidavits. Police said they found a .380 pistol, a double-barrelled shotgun, marijuana and 254 milligrams of heroin. Police said in court records they found Odonnell on Thursday on the side of Route 103, moving items from his truck to another truck, and that he also possessed cocaine. Police said they arrested him on the new charge, as well as the one from the previous encounter. In court Friday, Deputy State’s Attorney Travis Weaver sought to have bail set at $5,000 as the affidavits indicated Odonnell was “somewhat transient.” “We understand he was basically living out of his truck for some time,” Weaver said. Defense Attorney Daniel Stevens said Odonnell has extensive ties to Vermont and could live with his mother in Springfield. Stevens also noted how close the amount of heroin Odonnell was alleged to have possessed was to the 200 milligram felony threshold, and questioned whether he really had that much. “ It is based on what they assume the amount was,” Stevens said. “They don’t know what the amount was. It’s clearly for personal use — not clearly, but a small amount we frequently see in this courtroom to be for personal use.” gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com