Bow, Hopkinton Women Arrested After Drug Incident At I-93 Rest Stop

SALEM, NH — Two capital region women were arrested on drug charges last night after police were sent to the I-93 rest area in Salem for a possible overdose call. Rebecca Santy, 34, pictured left, of Bow, was arrested on Sept. 17, 2017, for reckless conduct and possession of a controlled drug. Also arrested was Tricia Duff, 59, of Hopkinton, for possession of a controlled drug.

Editor’s Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Salem Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

At just before 7:30 p.m., Salem Police officers were sent to the rest area after an employee reported two women passed out in the women's restroom, according to Capt. Joel Dolan of the Salem Police Department. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Salem NH Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

“The first officer arrived on scene and noticed an unconscious female on her back, laying on the floor behind a locked stall door,” Dolan alleged. “In the next stall over was another female unresponsive on her knees behind a separate closed stall door. Two other officers arrived seconds later and assisted with the situation.”

As one officer was attempting to render aid to the female on her back, another officer noticed the second female opening her stall door, Dolan noted.

“Immediately the officers noticed the female coming out of the stall had an uncapped hypodermic needle in her hand,” he alleged. “The needle was filled with a brown colored liquid which appeared to be heroin or fentanyl.”

The female was given “several loud verbal commands to drop the needle” but allegedly ignored the officers and continued to walk toward them with the needle held up in front of her face. One of the officers tased the woman but it didn’t appear to affect her in any way.

“The female slowly retreated back into the stall, closing the door with the wires still attached to her,” Dolan stated.

Officers reportedly ordered her to drop the needle but the woman – later identified as Santy – allegedly refused and was tased again. The second hit appeared to do the trick because Santy reportedly exited the stall without possession of the loaded syringe.

After Santy was cuffed, other officers pulled the second woman – Duff – out from underneath the locked bathroom stall. The woman “regained consciousness and became alert,” Dolan alleged.

Salem Fire and Rescue teams arrived at the scene to evaluate both women but they reportedly refused treatment.

Dolan alleged that drugs and paraphernalia were also seized from the two stalls the females were occupying.

Santy has a number of prior incidents with local police, according to posts on Patch, including felony counts of possession of controlled drugs, one misdemeanor count, and three felony possession of controlled/narcotic drug with intent to distribute after an arrest in Bow in June 2015. She was indicted earlier this year for felony controlled drug act; acts prohibited-Oxycodone after an alleged incident in Concord in November 2016. She was also arrested last year for theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, possession of controlled drugs, and possession of prescription drugs without a prescription after an alleged incident at Hannaford on Fort Eddy Road. Duff, according to a post on Patch from June 2011, was previously arrested for conduct after an accident after an incident on Fort Eddy Road.