Chestnut Hill Man Arrested, Charged with Drug Possession

CHESTNUT HILL, MA – The Ipswich Police Department has arrested and charged a Chestnut Hill man with drug charges after a local business owner reported suspicious activity.

Damien Thornton, 40, of Chestnut Hill was arrested and charged with possession of a Class A (fentanyl) and Class B (cocaine) substance.

The arrest was made after Ipswich Police received a report Wednesday afternoon from a local business owner of suspicious activity along Topsfield Road.

According to a news release from police, “the business owner reported that an unknown man and woman were dropped off at his business, and that the male appeared to be hiding several bags and backpacks behind his store.”

Officers Dan Holway and Dave Moore discovered Thornton behind the business, and upon an investigation, found him in possession of several bags of personal belongings with items of drug paraphernalia in plain sight.

Detective Edward Gallivan later joined the scene and performed a field test confirming the substances found on Thornton’s person to be fentanyl and cocaine.

Thornton was arrested at the scene, and during booking, was found to be wanted on three default warrants from local courts.

The Chestnut Hill native was arraigned in Ipswich District Court Thursday, where he was held on $500 cash bail. His bail on his previously pending cases was revoked, according to police.