Polchies faces hard time on armed career criminal, drug, gun possession charges

Michael Polchies (Strafford County Jail photo)

A Somersworth man who formerly lived in East Rochester has been accused of being an armed career criminal for the second time.

Michael Polchies, 42, was indicted on the charge by a Strafford County grand jury earlier this month along with four other charges including two felony counts of drug trafficking and two felony counts for possession of a deadly weapon.

The charges all stem from a Dec. 21 incident when Rochester Police responded to the Holiday Inn around 5:25 p.m. for a report that a vehicle was driving through the parking lot at around 30 mph and that the driver appeared impaired.
Officers located the vehicle nearby at the Shell/Nouria gas station and identified the driver as Polchies, Rochester Police Capt. Todd Pinkham said soon after the arrest.

"As a result of observations made by the Officers, Polchies was asked to step out of the vehicle, however he refused and attempted to flee in the vehicle," Pinkham said. "Officers were able to quickly take hold of Polchies and he was then removed from the vehicle. Once out of the vehicle, Polchies began resisting the Officers, but was eventually taken into custody."
Polchies was found to have two firearms in his possession: a .38 special and a Taurus semi-automatic. One of the handguns was loaded, according to police.
Polchies reamins held at Strafford County Jail.

Coincidentally, Rochester Police arrested Polchies under similar circumstances in 2016.
On June 24 of that year Polchies was charged with several felonies including possession of a narcotic drug with intent to distribute, receiving stolen property, armed career criminal, felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, four counts of possession of a controlled drug and carrying a loaded handgun without a license.
Polchies was also charged with resisting arrest or detention, a Class A misdemeanor.
The arrest came as a result of Rochester Police responding to the parking lot at 77 South Main St. a little after 2:35 a.m. after getting a report of a male in a parked gray vehicle hanging out of the driver's side.
Upon arriving they found a gray Honda sedan which was running with the driver's door open. Inside they located Polchies who appeared to be unconscious in the driver's seat.
As officers attempted to see if he was OK, they observed what appeared to be packages of illegal drugs and a loaded handgun under his leg, police said.
The officers were able to take Polchies into custody, and he was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital for observation and possible treatment as he appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
A search warrant was later completed on the vehicle by police leading to the charges.
Polchies also had an active arrest warrant from state Probation and Parole division.
Seized in the arrest were what is believed to be clonazepam, heroin and cocaine along with $2,429 in cash. The handgun that Polchies was in possession of was determined to be previously stolen.

He faces up to 40 years on the armed career criminal charge, up to 20 years on each felon in possession charge and up to 15 years on each trafficking charge.

The March indictments were released to the public today.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, rather that enough evidence has been gathered to warrant moving forward to trial.