A University of Massachusetts student was arrested on a number of drug possession charges along with another man on the night of Friday, March 2, after an investigation involving both local and state police.
UMass student Harrison J. Ogbunize, 21, of 69 Pelham Rd, Room C, Amherst, Mass., was charged along with Paul M. Fowler, 22, of 158 Pendleton Ave, Springfield, Mass., with possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute, trafficking in cocaine, a drug violation near a school or park, intent to distribute a counterfeit drug and larceny over $250.
The two were arrested by Massachusetts State Police at 9:00 p.m. inside the TJ Maxx store in Hadley after completing a drug transaction while under police observation.
Fowler had in his possession two firearms at the time of the arrest and was subsequently charged with two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card as well as carrying a firearm while intoxicated, according to Patrick Archbald, Deputy Chief of the University of Massachusetts Police Department.
Ogbunize had attempted to pass off baking powder as cocaine during the drug transaction leading to the charge of intent to distribute a counterfeit drug. Both men were found to be in possession of cocaine upon being placed under arrest.
"This [arrest] was the result of a lengthy investigation into drug use and drug dealing," Archbald said.
According to Archbald UMass police officers worked alongside other local police departments as part of the Hampshire/Franklin Gang and Narcotics Task Force and state police during the investigation.
Ogbunize had been previously arrested last May for several of the same charges, including possession of class B substance with intent to distribute and trafficking in cocaine, following an earlier nine-month investigation led by the UMPD that resulted in a total of four arrests, according to a May 2006 article in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
According to Archbald, Ogbunize came back to the attention of the police after UMass officers observed him conducting a drug transaction at the Wendy's restaurant in Hadley on Feb. 9.
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