SKOWHEGAN — A Smithfield contractor who is accused by several people of failing to perform home repair projects after collecting down payments from them had an arrest warrant issued for him Wednesday when he failed to appear in court on drug charges.
The failure by Zacheriah Adams, 31, to appear in a Skowhegan courtroom marked the sixth time since 2015 he has not shown for a court date. Judge Andrew Benson issued a warrant for his arrest and set a standard $1,000 cash bail.
Adams is facing two counts of drug possession following an Oct. 26 traffic stop in Norridgewock in which authorities say cocaine and fentanyl were found in his car.
Zacheriah Adams, in a 2020 Franklin County jail booking photo. Photo courtesy of Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Three people previously told the Morning Sentinel that Adams is the same man who defrauded them by collecting thousands of dollars for work that he never performed. Other people have taken to social media to make similar allegations against him. They say Adams, who operated A&W Construction, never responded to phone calls or texts about following through on the work he promised to do.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office has said it’s received one complaint about Adams concerning his work as a contractor. Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell said Wednesday that Rumford police are investigating complaints against him in that town.
But Mitchell said unless complainants can prove intent, it’s likely a civil case and not a criminal one.
Mitchell said that beyond the drug possession charges against Adams, he’s also being looked at as a suspect in the case of a stolen debit card and for writing a bad check.
“They’re trying to put a case together,” Mitchell said. “We’ll see whether or not it’s successful.”
Adams has previously written to court officials after missing court to say he mixed up dates or was enrolled in a residential rehabilitation program for substance abuse. Mitchell said the concern this time is that Adams may have fled the state.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
