Portsmouth, New Hampshire- Ivan Eaton Jr. is in trouble again.
The former Seabrook man first generated headlines in 1991 after he opened the Leather ‘n Lace adult video and bookshop in his hometown. In 1994, he was arrested during a raid on an illegal gambling operation in Salisbury, Mass. And he was again in the news in 2002 when police raided his Portsmouth smoke shop for allegedly selling drug paraphernalia.
Now living, at least part time, in the Florida Keys, Eaton was arrested last week by Florida law enforcement officers and charged with heroin trafficking.
The Monroe County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department arrested Eaton, 49, who gave his address as Cedar Lane, Big Pine Key, Fla., on Feb. 26. He was charged with two felonies for allegedly committing larceny and trafficking in heroin, and three additional felonies for possession of a controlled substance – heroin and cocaine. Florida authorities also charged the former Seabrook Planning Board member and son of a former selectman, with an unspecified count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Key West Citizen reported that Eaton was arrested as a result of a joint operation involving Sheriff’s Special Investigations detectives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The officers closed in after they allegedly witnessed Eaton taking possession of 38 grams of heroin from another man, identified as Joseph Pickett, in a parking lot on Summerland Key.
Eaton previously had paid Pickett for the drugs, police said. Eaton was placed under arrest when he allegedly took possession of the heroin.
Pickett, who had been the target of a three-month investigation, was also arrested and charged with three outstanding warrants – two for sale of heroin and one for trafficking in the drug.
A black Ford Excursion was seized from Eaton for possible forfeiture, along with $1,500 in cash. During the course of the investigation into Pickett’s activities, detectives also seized a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
In a separate case, Monroe County Sheriff’s Department Detective Manuel Cuervo had received information that a wooden mermaid statue reported stolen from Ramrod Key in May 2000 was at Eaton’s Big Pine Key home. Officers obtained a warrant to search the house and found the statue inside at the top of a stairwell.
The carved wooden statue of a mermaid is valued at approximately $500. It was reported stolen from Boondock’s Restaurant. During the course of the search, detectives also found cocaine, heroin, Xanax and other controlled substances, along with several items of drug paraphernalia.
Eaton is being held on $250,000 bond and will be arraigned on March 9.
Eaton Jr.’s arrest occurred on the same day his father, Ivan Q. Eaton Sr., 71, of Lower Collins Street in Seabrook, pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal threatening in Hampton District Court. That case stems from a 2002 incident involving Karen Knight, who at the time was chairwoman of the Seabrook Board of Selectmen.
Eaton Sr.’s case was continued until August. Judge Francis Frasier indicated that if the elder Eaton behaves properly for the next six months, the charges will be dismissed.