ROCKLAND — A 19-year-old Rockland man who was arrested by Rockland Police for allegedly providing alcohol and drugs to two female teenagers who were put on life support for alcohol poisoning, made his initial court appearance April 20 in Knox County Unified Court.

Ryan Newbert is charged with two counts of furnishing liquor to minors and two counts of aggravated unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs from an incident that occurred February 29. 

Judge Patricia Worth set bail at $2,000, but as of April 27 Newbert remains at the Knox County Jail.

According to the court documents, Officer William Smith responded to a call about a man witnessing what appeared to be an unconscious female “being stuffed into a car” near a Dunkin Donuts before it sped off traveling northbound on Main Street in Rockland. Smith located and stopped the vehicle on Camden Street and immediately noticed two unconscious females in the back seat. Rockland EMS transported the girls to Pen Bay Medical Center where they were put on life support before being flown via LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center in Portland. 

On March 1, Detective Joel Neal interviewed the victims at Maine Medical. They told Neal that they went to Newbert’s apartment to “hang out” and both snorted a crushed lorazapam which he later admitted to police that he provided to the girls, according to the police affidavit. 

Newbert then spoke to his grandmother, Brenda Shepard, 63, of Rockland, about purchasing the alcohol. The store video at Hannaford confirmed that Newbert and Shepard entered the store together where he selected the half-gallon of vodka and she made the purchase. 

The girls told Neal they were drinking vodka with Newbert and ended up at Lucia Beach State Park in Owls Head. They said they continued drinking the vodka and do not remember anything after that, according to the police affidavit. 

When Neal interviewed Shepard, she initially denied being involved in the incident, but quickly changed her story and admitted that she purchased the alcohol with Newbert, according to the police affidavit. 

Newbert had checked himself into a rehabilitation program shortly after the incident and police were unable to communicate with him during that time, said the court documents. When police interviewed Newbert April 18, he admitted to providing the alcohol and lorazapam for the girls. Newbert was then arrested by police and transported to the Knox County Jail. 

Sgt. Don Finnegan said in an earlier press release that both victims were successfully treated and are doing well. 

Newbert will appear in court again June 30. 

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com.