Homemade pills containing fentanyl found during Westerly traffic stop | Police & Courts

WESTERLY — Local police seized homemade pills that they said tested positive for fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin during a Sunday night traffic stop.

Westerly police arrested 30-year-old Wayne G. Williams, of 23 Noyes Ave., Pawcatuck, after the traffic stop along High Street. He was charged with two counts of possession of a narcotic substance. He was also cited for several traffic infractions, and for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Williams posted bond and was due in court for arraignment this week.

The police said Williams was stopped around 10:30 p.m. after he passed an officer “at a high rate of speed” with his high beams on and a taillight out (the low beam bulb was out on one of headlights), according to the police report.

Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey said an officer smelled marijuana and saw “a burnt roach” in the center console, and several syringe tops in the car. The officer called for backup. In a search, the police said they found numerous white pills with “N8” printed on them. Lacey said many of these were “half pills” with various pieces broken off.

A gram of marijuana, a bag of unused syringes, Chore Boy scouring pads and a machete were also seized as evidence, the police report said.

“The officers were unfamiliar with the pills and attempted to identify them, but could not find any match within our medication database,” Lacey said. Williams told the police he was not aware of the pills or syringes and said they may have belonged to his brother, Lacey said.

Lacey said the officers brought the “pressed powder” pills  to the station for field testing. Each one contained fentanyl, cocaine and heroin, Lacey said.

The mixture of cocaine and heroin — a “speedball” — is not commonly found in pill form and does not have a contemporary medical use, according to drug.com, a pharmaceutical database. Speedball combinations do not typically contain fentanyl.

Lacey said the evidence suggested that the pills were likely made with a hand-held tablet press. They were sent to the state lab for further analysis.

jvallee@thewesterlysun.com