AUBURN — A Lewiston woman pleaded not guilty Thursday to a drug charge stemming from what police said was the sale of heroin to a woman who nearly died from an overdose.

Casandra Lawrence, 36, of 69 Lincoln St. remained free on personal recognizance after appearing in Androscoggin County Superior Court.

An Androscoggin County grand jury indicted Lawrence earlier this month on a felony charge of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Police said Lawrence sold heroin laced with fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller, to a 23-year-old woman from Brunswick who overdosed on Oct. 26 at about 4:30 p.m. The woman was given the drug Narcan by Lisbon emergency services. Narcan is the commercial name for nalaxone, which is used to counter the effects of opioids such as heroin.

Police had pulled over a car on Canal Street in Lisbon. Local emergency workers administered Narcan after they learned that the woman had apparently overdosed on heroin.

The woman’s condition improved immediately and she was taken by ambulance to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick for further treatment.

Lisbon Police said a car parked at the Congregational Church in Durham had placed an emergency medical call.

The caller reported the car was bound for Lisbon. Local police found the car and identified the three occupants, including the woman who was having a medical crisis. The other occupants told police they were trying to get the woman to the hospital. Police noticed the woman was unresponsive in the back seat of the car and requested an ambulance.

One of the occupants of the car gave police a sample of the drug the woman had taken. A field test of the substance confirmed it was heroin.

One of the car’s occupants told police that the Brunswick woman had met with a drug dealer earlier at a convenience store in Durham where she bought $70 worth of heroin. The Brunswick woman had identified her drug connection as “Casey,” who was later identified as Lawrence. Her car was identified as a red sedan.

Shortly after taking the heroin, the Brunswick woman, who was driving, began to “nod off,” witnesses told police. She was put in the back seat and police were summoned as the other occupants of the car drove in the direction of the nearest hospital.

A search of Lawrence’s car turned up used hypodermic needles, a digital scale and a “suspected” drug ledger.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com