Man facing drug charges

“As we spoke, (Richard) Bohner commented that he took a bus to Waterbury and hung out for a while on the ‘blacktop,’ and then came back.”

Torrington officer

TORRINGTON — A Litchfield man was arrested after Torrington officers found him in possession of heroin after asking about his trip to Waterbury, police said.

Richard Bohner, 45, of Johnson Road, was arrested Nov. 12 and charged with possession of narcotics, police said.

Two officers were on patrol near Cumberland Farms on South Main Street after responding to numerous complaints related to drug activity in the area, according to the report.

Bohner walked across South Main Street into the store parking lot, where one of the officers began to speak with him.

“As we spoke, Bohner commented that he took a bus to Waterbury and hung out for a while on the ‘blacktop,’ and then came back,” said the officer.

In the report, the officer notes in his experience, “(d)rug dealers and users take the bus to Waterbury to purchase narcotics,” where the same drugs are less expensive than in Torrington, and “(t)he area known as ‘the blacktop’ is a short walk from where the bus stop is and is notorious for narcotic sales.”

“I continued to speak to Bohner and after a period of time asked if he had any drugs, weapons or needles on him,” the officer said in the report. “Bohner immediately stopped talking and looked away. It is my training and experience both of these are signs of stress.”

Bohner was searching for the “right” answer to the question, the officer said. Bohner put his head down, a sign of resignation, and then said “I do ... I have heroin,” according to the report.

Bohner gave officers a pill bottle which contained two bags of heroin and pills, which he “said were two (different) prescribed medications but not prescribed to him.”

“He declined to go into additional detail of where he obtained the heroin or pills,” the officer said.

The pills were later identified as lorazepam, police said. Lorazepam is an antianxiety medication which “works by slowing activity in the brain to allow for relaxation” and can be habit forming, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Bohner was released on a promise to appear and was scheduled to appear Tuesday in state Superior Court in Torrington, police said.

Bohner was again arrested Nov. 15 and charged with possession of heroin, possession of less than a halfounce of marijuana and possession in a school zone, police said.

He was released on $1,500 bond and scheduled to appear Nov. 27 in Superior Court in Torrington.