The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office executed three drug search warrants in one week in March 2024, all tied to New York residents and all yielding hundreds of illegal marijuana plants with other paraphernalia and documentation.[1] On 18 March around 10 a.m., deputies searched a residence on Perkins Street in Norridgewock owned by a New Yorker; no one was home, but they seized more than 350 marijuana plants, about 2 pounds of processed marijuana and paraphernalia.[1]
On Monday 25 March, the sheriff’s criminal division executed two more warrants at properties owned by 29-year-old Jiamin Liao, who listed residences in Maine, California and New York.[1] Deputies found 551 mature marijuana plants at the Madison residence on Thurston Hill Road.[1] At the Norridgewock residence on Upper Main Street they confiscated more than 30 pounds (about 13.6 kg) of processed marijuana, more than $39,000 in suspected drug proceeds, a 2022 Toyota SUV and drug paraphernalia.[1]
Liao was arrested and charged with cultivation of marijuana and unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, with bail initially set at $10,000 cash, which she posted the day of her arrest.[1] Court records later showed she had operated the Madison grow between December 2022 and March 2024 and used the Norridgewock house, owned since November 2023, to store the marijuana, with the March 2024 searches recovering more than 500 plants, about 30 pounds of processed marijuana and nearly $40,000.[2] She pleaded guilty in January and a judge sentenced her to six months in prison for maintaining a drug-involved premises.[2]
