Athol man arrested after traffic stop leads to drug possession charges, suspected heroin/fentanyl and crack resin found

ATHOL — On Friday, January 3, 2025, at approximately 8:09 p.m., Athol Police Officer Paul Forand was on patrol when he observed a black Toyota Highlander with Massachusetts plates drive down South Street then turn onto Exchange Street.

Officer Forand queried the registration and found out the vehicle had an expired inspection sticker.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Forand and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

Officer Forand said he followed the vehicle until a safe traffic stop could be conducted. Officer Forand then activated his cruiser’s emergency lights and stopped the vehicle on Exchange Street near the old Athol Daily News headquarters.

Officer Forand activated his body-worn camera and approached the vehicle.

Officer Forand made contact with the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Vincent Barber, and informed him of the reason for the stop.

According to police, Vincent P. Barber, 36, is a resident of 129 Union Street, Athol, MA.

Officer Forand requested Barber’s license and registration.

“Barber stated he did not have a license but did provide the registration. Barber’s license status in MA [Massachusetts] is revoked per CJIS [the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database],” Officer Forand said. “It should be noted that on November 11, 2024, Officer Forand issued Barber a citation and requested a summons for operating after suspension as a result of a traffic stop that night.”

Officer Forand informed Barber he was under arrest for operating on a revoked/suspended license.

Officer Forand handcuffed Barber and then placed him in the backseat of his cruiser after searching him.

While retrieving Barber’s phone from the center console of the vehicle he was driving, per his request, Officer Forand observed a straightened piece of metal that was charred and covered with residue.

Through Officer Forand’s training and experience, he identified the metal piece to be consistent with a “push rod,” which is used in the process of smoking crack cocaine out of a crack pipe.

Officer Cody Vitols, who had also responded to the scene, told Officer Forand that he had also seen the suspected push rod in the cupholder while standing by the front passenger side of the vehicle.

Officer Forand returned to the cruiser and read Barber his Miranda rights from a card he carries in his uniform pocket. According to Officer Forand, Barber stated he understood and was fine with speaking with him.

“After a conversation, Barber stated there were drugs between the driver’s seat and center console area,” Officer Forand said.

Officer Forand returned to the vehicle Barber was driving and located a plastic baggie with a ball of tin foil that had a brown and white rock-like substance inside of it.

Officer Forand found a charred glass pipe containing white residue. Based on his training and experience, he identified it as a crack pipe. He also determined that the brown and white rock-like substance was consistent with crack resin, a combination of crack cocaine and previously smoked crack cocaine.

“Users will often mix the two together because the byproduct of previously smoked crack cocaine still has some effect when ingested,” Officer Forand explained.

Officer Forand released the vehicle to the registered owner, who walked from their residence to the location of the traffic stop to pick it up, Officer Forand said.

Officer Forand then transported Barber to the station where he was searched, booked and finger printed.

While Barber was being booked, Officer Forand said he packaged the suspected drugs per department policy. Officer Forand opened the folded tin foil to find a brown wax-like substance inside. Officer Forand asked Barber what the substance was and he said it was “down.”

“The term ‘down’ is consistently used to describe heroin/fentanyl,” Officer Forand said. Officer Forand said that based on his training and experience, he knows that after powder heroin/fentanyl is cooked, a brown, wax-like substance often remains, which is often reheated so a user can get high again.

“Both the tin foil with brown wax-like substance and the brown and white rock-like substance was packaged and will be sent to the state crime lab for further testing,” Officer Forand said.

Officer Forand contacted Bail Commissioner Marianne Kissane who set Barber’s bail at personal recognizance.

Barber was charged with the following crimes/violations (Officer Forand’s reasoning for the charges is provided in quotations):

1. No Inspection Sticker
2. Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended License
3. Possess Class A Drug: “for having in his immediate control a brown wax-like substance consistent with cooked heroin/fentanyl”
4. Possess Class B Drug: “for having in his immediate control brown and white rock-like substance consistent with crack resin.”

Barber’s arraignment was scheduled to take place in Orange District Court on Jan. 6, 2025.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from January, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.

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