NORTH SMITHFIELD – A Lincoln man is facing felony charges from an incident in December where he threw a case containing a large quantity of narcotics at the Hilltop Motel and escaped into the nearby woods on foot, according to police.
Matthew Daignault, 41, was arrested by Woonsocket police on a warrant from North Smithfield in March. He is facing charges of possession of narcotics, two counts of possession with intent to deliver and obstructing an officer with the North Smithfield Police Department from the incident in December.
According to the arrest report, police patrolling the area around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12 observed a car bearing a plate that did not belong to the vehicle. An officer who approached the car noted that a woman in the passenger seat was holding crack pipe.
While the officer was talking to the parties, Daignault, who was in the driver’s seat, reportedly removed a brown leather case from his pants, threw it in the direction of the motel’s front office, and took off running. Police gave chase as Daignault ran into the nearby woods, losing a shoe as he fled the scene. Officers were unable to locate Daignault despite searching with a K9, according to the report.
In addition to drugs found in the case, a later search of the red Subaru Daignault had parked at the motel revealed drug paraphernalia throughout, including pipes, baggies, a scale and syringes. In all, officers found around 22 grams of crack cocaine, 9 grams of fentanyl, plus five fentanyl pills and two vials of testosterone. Some of the narcotics were reportedly divided into separate baggies.
Daignault was held without bail last month and is scheduled for a pre-arraignment conference in July.
