Two face heroin charges after I-91 stop

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - State police arrested two men on drug charges Thursday night after reportedly discovering more than 200 bags of heroin in their car during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 91.

According to court documents, state police pulled over a blue Ford Escort occupied by Christopher L. Sanville, 31, of Newport, Vt., and Andreas K. Thompson, 39, of Hartford, Conn., at approximately 8:45 p.m. on I-91 northbound near Exit 21. The vehicle was stopped for not having a functioning left-turn signal, police reported.

Police reported that Sanville, the driver, could not provide any identification or a valid registration for the vehicle.

After conducting a brief search of the vehicle, police reportedly found a black medical pouch containing 18 bags of heroin, a hypodermic needle, a cotton filter and a spoon.

Police then placed Sanville and Thompson under arrest and called for a state police K-9 unit to search the rest of the vehicle, according to court documents.

The second search, police reported, uncovered a black backpack on the passenger's side of the vehicle containing a black plastic bag with 229 bags of heroin inside.

The heroin was allegedly bagged in two stacks of 100 bags, each in knotted sandwich bags, and two other bundles, totaling 29 bags.

According to police, during the booking process, Thompson admitted that the black backpack was his and that Sanville had picked him up in Hartford and the two men were headed to Newport, Vt., where they were going to drop off the heroin.

Police also reported that during the booking process, Sanville's cell phone rang a number of times and the incoming text messages warned of a state police checkpoint near Newport, Vt.

Thompson and Sanville pleaded innocent Friday in Northampton District Court to charges of possessing a class A substance with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate a drug law. Both were being held at the Hampshire County House of Correction on $5,000 bail.

They are scheduled to return to court April 15 for a pretrial conference.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.