Man with suspended license found with oxycodone; passenger arrested for crack, amphetamines, and lorazepam in Orange traffic stop

ORANGE — On Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 2:29 p.m., Lieutenant Adam Cooley of the Orange Police Department was driving north on Daniel Shays Highway when he observed a black Chevrolet pickup truck traveling south, in the direction of his cruiser.

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

“I observed the vehicle in question to swerve towards the center line and then make an abrupt correction back into the proper driving lane,” Lt. Cooley said. “As the vehicle passed my direction, I immediately noticed the driver of the truck to be Mr. Benjamin Priestley Sr. I was aware that Mr. Priestley did not have an active driver’s license as the previous 11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. shift had informed me at shift change that Mr. Priestley was suspended in the state of Massachusetts.”

According to police, Benjamin J. Priestley, 54, is a resident of Pleasant Street in Orange, MA.

Lt. Cooley stated that he activated the emergency blue lights on his cruiser, reversed direction, and attempted to catch up to the vehicle in question.

“As I began to catch up to the vehicle in question, I observed the vehicle make a left-hand turn into the parking lot of Herrick’s Tavern, a local restaurant in the town of Orange,” Lt. Cooley said.

Lt. Cooley reported that he pulled behind the vehicle in question with all of his emergency blue lights activated and, while doing so, observed Priestley exit the vehicle and attempt to walk into the establishment.

“I exited my cruiser and ordered Mr. Priestley to get back into the vehicle,” Lt. Cooley said. “I also noticed the passenger side door to have opened and a female passenger, later identified as Ms. Lori Lanagan, to have gotten out of the vehicle. I also ordered her back inside of the vehicle. But occupants complied and got back into the vehicle.”

According to police, Lori A. Lanagan, 48, is a resident of South Street in Athol, MA.

“I approached the vehicle on the driver’s side and requested a license and registration from Mr. Priestley and he informed me that he did not have a license,” Lt. Cooley said. “I asked Mr. Priestley if he simply did not have a license in his possession or did not have a license at all, even though I was already fully aware that he did not have an active license. Mr. Priestley informed me that did not have a license at all.”

Lt. Cooley stated that he then ordered Priestley out of the vehicle and secured him in handcuffs behind his back (double-locked and checked for proper fit). He then advised Mr. Priestley of his Miranda warnings, asked if he understood, and Priestley confirmed that he did.

“I asked Mr. Priestley if he had anything on his person or in the vehicle that would get him into trouble, he advised that he did not,” Lt. Cooley said. “Shortly after this took place, Officer Evangeline Cakounes arrived on scene and I requested her to make contact with Ms. Lanagan.”

Lt. Cooley stated that he escorted Priestley to the front of his cruiser and began to take an inventory of Mr. Priestley’s property that was located on his person.

“As I began to remove items from his front right pocket in his sweatpants, I noted a long rod and immediately recognized it be a common tool used for cleaning crack pipes, commonly referred to as a push rod,” Lt. Cooley said. “I also removed a single white pill that Mr. Priestley stated was a Percocet. I asked Mr. Priestley if he had a prescription for the pill and he stated that he did. When asked why the pill was not in its proper bottle, he stated that it was his last one so he had it in his pocket.”

Lt. Cooley stated that as the search continued, a crack pipe was removed from Priestley’s waistband. He also reported that three nip bottles of alcohol were located on Priestley’s person, two of which were open and missing approximately half of their contents. Lt. Cooley asked Priestley how much he had to drink, and Priestley responded that he had consumed only what was missing from the nips. Priestley was then secured in the rear of Lt. Cooley’s cruiser.

After securing Priestley in the rear of his cruiser, Lt. Cooley said he then approached Lanagan, who was still seated in the passenger seat of the pickup truck.

“I informed her of what was found on Mr. Priestley’s person and I asked her if she had anything on her or in the vehicle that would get her into trouble,” Lt. Cooley said. “Ms. Lanagan stated that she did not have any more drugs. I asked Ms. Lanagan if there she had any paraphernalia and she stated that she might have. I then asked her to step out of the vehicle. I informed Ms. Lanagan that Officer Cakounes was going to conduct a search of her person. Ms. Lanagan handed me her purse while this took place.”

Lt. Cooley then searched Lanagan’s purse on the front of the pickup truck.

“While conducting this search, I located a glass crack pipe, Chore Boy, and a metal pipe utilized for smoking crack,” Lt. Cooley said. “I also located a small clear Ziploc bag containing two round orange pills. While completing the search of the purse, Officer Cakounes brought a large rock like substance that I immediately recognized to be consistent with crack cocaine to the front of the truck and a small round white pill. Officer Cakounes informed me that these items came from Ms. Lanagan’s person during the search. I informed Officer Cakounes to place Ms. Lanagan in custody.”

Officer Cakounes then secured Lanagan in the rear of a cruiser.

“Chief James Sullivan and myself later transported Mr. Priestley and Ms. Lanagan to the Orange Police Department for booking while Sergeant Jonathan Cole and Officer Cakounes completed a search on the vehicle,” Lt. Cooley explained. “The owner of the truck, who just happened to be following Mr. Priestley, asked if he could have a licensed operator drive the vehicle away when the investigation was completed. That was allowed and the vehicle was driven away by a licensed operator.”

Lt. Cooley stated that upon arrival at the Orange Police Department, Lanagan and Priestley were escorted into the booking room. Lt. Cooley then conducted a thorough search of Priestley and, upon completion, secured him in a holding cell while officers waited for Lanagan to be booked.

“Once Officer Cakounes was back to the station, she conducted a more thorough search of Ms. Lanagan’s person,” Lt. Cooley said. “While doing so, officers located another large rock of crack cocaine inside of her jacket, and an additional piece of crack cocaine from behind a ring on her finger.”

Lt. Cooley stated that Lanagan was then booked. He added that Priestley was subsequently removed from his cell and booked as well.

Lanagan’s bail was set at $25,000 and Priestley’s bail was set at $3,000.

“Neither party was able to arrange the money for bail and they were subsequently transported to the Franklin County House of Corrections for holding,” Lt. Cooley said.

Lt. Cooley stated that Officer Donald Hager, who completed the booking procedure on his behalf along with Sergeant Cole, later informed him that he was able to identify the seized miscellaneous pills as the following:

• One white pill located in Priestley’s pocket, marked “M523” and “10/325,” identified as acetaminophen and oxycodone hydrochloride.
• Two round orange pills located in Lanagan’s purse, marked “30 LCI,” identified as amphetamine and dextroamphetamine.
• One white round pill located on Lanagan’s person, marked “TV/1” and “1/R,” identified as lorazepam.

Lanagan was charged with the following:

1. Possess Class B Drug (crack cocaine)
2. Possess Class C Drug (lorazepam)
3. Possess Class E Drug (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine)

Priestley was charged with the following:

1. Operating Motor Vehicle with License Suspended, Subsequent Offense
2. Possess Class B Drug

Lanagan and Priestley’s arraignments were scheduled for March 6, 2025 in Orange District Court.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from March, 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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