Investigation of Newport overdose death leads to charges against Claremont woman, arrest warrant for another
Published: 01-24-2024 5:06 PM
Modified: 01-27-2024 8:41 AM |
NEWPORT — The overdose death of a Newport resident has led to charges against one woman and an arrest warrant for another.
First responders found 33-year-old Maryanne Baldauff dead in an apartment building at 62 Sunapee St. on Tuesday, according to a statement from Newport Police.
Members of the town’s police and fire departments responded to a report of a person who was not conscious nor breathing. The manner and cause of Baldauff’s death are pending a determination by the New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
After conducting interviews and gathering evidence at the scene on Sunapee Street, police investigators obtained search warrants for a residence on Prospect Street in Claremont and an individual, Lisa Giannatti, 35, of Claremont.
A joint investigative task force of Claremont and Newport police detectives seized more than an ounce of suspected methamphetamine, more than 50 bags of suspected fentanyl, as well as what they believe is crack cocaine, and controlled and narcotic prescription pills from the residence, according to police. Investigators also recovered drug trafficking paraphernalia, including packaging materials, scales, ledgers and cash.
Giannatti has been charged with possession of controlled drugs with intent to deliver and conspiracy to commit sale of controlled drugs, both Class A felonies. The charges are enhanced because of the quantity of drugs alleged, because the offense is alleged to have taken place in a school zone and because Giannatti has a previous conviction under the New Hampshire Controlled Drug Act.
She is being held at the Sullivan County House of Corrections without bail, pending her arraignment in the 5th Circuit Court, District Division, in Claremont.
New Hampshire Probation and Parole is reviewing the circumstances of Giannatti’s arrest to determine whether she violated the conditions of her probation.
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Also related to the investigation, police have an active arrest warrant for Brittany Nolin, 33, of Newport. Nolin is charged with falsifying physical evidence, a Class B felony.
Baldauff in recent years faced her own criminal charges triggered by an overdose death.
In March 2022, Baldauff became the subject of police investigation after a 67-year-old woman overdosed in Baldauff’s Newport apartment.
Police at the time said they suspected that Baldauff was responsible for trafficking illicit drugs that were responsible for multiple overdoses in Claremont and Newport.
But authorities could not establish Baldauff intentionally supplied drugs to the woman who overdosed in her apartment.
In July 2022, Baldauff was sentenced to 12 months in the Sullivan County House of Corrections after pleading guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to sell heroin/fentanyl near a school and a misdemeanor charge of indirect criminal contempt for cutting off her ankle monitor bracelet while on parole, according to New Hampshire state court records.
The investigations into Baldauff’s death and into the alleged drug trafficking of Giannatti “and her associates” are ongoing, the release said. Additional charges and arrests are expected.
Those with information about the investigation are asked to contact Newport Police Detective Sgt. Alexander Marvin at 603-863-3232 or amarvin@newportnh.gov, or Claremont Police Detective Sgt. Trevor Dickerman at 603-542-7010 or tdickerman@claremontnh.com.