ROCKLAND – The following comprises recent court activity in Knox County, including a woman who remains in custody at the Knox County Jail for drug trafficking and a man who was charged with engaging a prostitute completes his case in court.

Matinicus woman arrested for trafficking cocaine

A Matinicus woman remains at the Knox County Jail after she was arrested Aug. 29 and charged with trafficking a sizeable amount of cocaine.

Blair M. Macleod, 38, was arrested by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office following a traffic stop on Vinalhaven.

She was charged with aggravated trafficking in cocaine.

Macleod made her initial appearance in Knox County Court Sept. 2. Judge Sarah Gilbert ordered to have the woman remain in jail without bail on a motion by the state to revoke to her earlier bail from a previous charge.

According to the affidavit field in court by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy observed a vehicle swerving on a road and discovered it was the same vehicle from a trespassing complaint earlier in the day.

After the deputy reached the vehicle, two men were observed sitting in the back seat with the passenger front seat empty. The vehicle was also parked near houses known for suspected drug activity, according to the affidavit.

Police searched Macleod’s car and found a plastic baggy of white powder in a backpack and more packets of white powder in a rolled up tube sock.

The largest bag weighed 138.8 grams and the total weight of all of the cocaine recovered by police was over 260 grams, according to the court document. 

First case completed in court after Asian Massage Parlor sex trafficking investigation

The first of the 11 men who were charged with engaging a prostitute Jan. 27 following an investigation of sex trafficking at the Asian Massage Parlor in Rockland had his case closed in Knox County Court.

The charge of engaging a prostitute against Bruce W.  Liljegren, 79, of Thomaston, was dismissed on Aug. 27.

The state agreed to the dismissal after the defendant completed the court ordered course “Stopping Sexual Exploitation.”

Liljegren visited the Asian Massage Parlor on Nov. 7, 2024.

A New York man, Tian Tao, 54, was identified by police as the owner of the Asian Massage Parlor in Rockland and is suspected of sex trafficking. Tao was arrested Feb. 20 on a charge of sex trafficking on a warrant obtained by the Rockland Police Department. Rockland Police detectives, with the assistance of the Kennebec County Sheriff Office, Gardiner Police Department. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested Tao in Gardiner.

Rockland Police released the names of names of the defendants who were issued summonses on Jan. 27. They first received information in late July 2024 from law enforcement in Lincoln County regarding their investigation into sexual acts that were being done in exchange for money at a local massage parlor in Waldoboro.  

The cases for the remaining defendants are still pending in Knox County Court.

Mark Strong, 69, of Thomaston;

Richard Generazio, 64, of Owls Head;

Christopher Mitchell, 41, of Lincolnville;

Christopher Felicetti, 62, of Washington;

Randy Bouchard, 62, of South Thomaston;

Michael Graves, 65, of Rockport;

Joseph Cady, 50, of Palermo;

Neal Shepard, 71, of Cushing;

William Heiden, 39, of Rockland;

Stanley Carlton, 65, of Owls Head.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com