Cops: Londonderry Man Arrested for Drugs, Thousands in Cash

A local man is facing charges after allegedly being caught with drugs and a large amount of cash in the middle of a Manchester street early this morning.

Joseph Allen, 25, of Londonderry, was arrested on Aug. 4, 2015, and charged with possession of a controlled drug and possession of prescription drug.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Manchester Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch police report.

According to a police report, an officer patrolling Merrimack Street came across a black Kia sedan stopped in the middle of the street just east of Beech Street.

The officer saw the driver, later identified as Allen, allegedly “hand money to another male subject who immediately walked away from the vehicle,” according to the report. The Kia also looked to have a homemade registration. The officer stopped the vehicle at Merrimack and Litchfield Lane while another officer and a K-9 unit were called to the scene.

“Allen appeared to be extremely nervous during the stop and failed to provide a valid reason for stopping in the middle of Merrimack Street,” according to Lt. Brian O’Keefe of the Manchester Police Department. “Allen stated he is employed at a used car dealership in Chichester, but failed to display the legitimate registration due to leaving work in a hurry and forgetting to take the dealer plate.”

O’Keefe alleged that Allen stated that he made a handwritten “temporary” plate to display. The homemade license plate was a legitimate registration, according to the report, from a used car dealership in Salem, not in Chichester.

The K-9 unit allegedly alerted the officers to the presence of drugs in the vehicle and police initiated a search. They allegedly found 0.1 gram of heroin, 5.7 grams of methadone, and more than $6,800 in cash.

Allen was released on $3,000 cash bail and is due in court on Sept. 9.

Editor’s note: This post has been edited to correct the exact amount of drugs that were allegedly found by police.

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