WHATELY – Massachusetts State Police arrested a 35-year-old Vermont man and a 16-year-old juvenile for alleged drug and firearm offenses following a traffic stop on Interstate 91.
Dylan Graskey, of Shaftsbury, Vermont, and the unnamed juvenile from Springfield were arrested on March 22 and the next day each pleaded not guilty to trafficking in heroin, trafficking in cocaine, two counts of illegal possession of a firearm, two counts of carrying a loaded firearm, two counts of illegal possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a large capacity feeding device. The juvenile’s name has been redacted due to his age.
According to State Police, Trooper Tyler Hersom was patrolling I-91 North at approximately 3 p.m. when he stopped a vehicle that passed him without front or rear license plates. Hersom observed five people inside the vehicle and identified Graskey as the driver. The trooper reportedly requested additional assistance after noting deceptive behaviors, inconsistent stories, and evasive answers from the occupants, who were removed from the vehicle and allowed to reenter once a State Police K-9 conducted an exterior sniff of the vehicle. Hersom observed white rectangular packaging in plain view under the seat when the front-seat passenger opened the door. Hersom noticed the packaging to be consistent with that of heroin.
According to State Police, the five occupants were temporarily detained while a full search of the vehicle was conducted. Troopers located a 9mm pistol, a .22 caliber handgun, approximately 1,150 stamped wax paper-folds containing a substance suspected to be heroin, and approximately 35 grams of a substance suspected to be crack cocaine. Graskey and the 16-year-old were arrested and taken to the Northampton Barracks for booking. A bail commissioner set bail at $200,000 for Graskey and $100,000 for the juvenile. The remaining three occupants were criminally summoned to Greenfield District Court.