AUBURN — A Lewiston man who police said was nabbed with a sizable amount of crack cocaine in a school zone during a drug dragnet denied trafficking charges Tuesday.

Glenn Murchison, 31, of 74 Birch St. appeared in Androscoggin County Superior Court sporting an electronic GPS monitoring bracelet around his ankle.

Prosecutors were seeking $50,000 cash bail; the defense wanted no bail.

Attorney Justin Leary told the judge that Murchison’s probation officer in Massachusetts would be monitoring the defendant’s whereabouts, so there was no need for cash bail.

Justice MaryGay Kennedy peered over the courtroom bench to glimpse the device, then said: “I don’t see how that helps us.”

She set bail at $50,000 cash and ordered Murchison not to use or have alcohol or illegal drugs, if released. He can be randomly searched for both.

Kennedy said the court might revisit the issue of bail once Leary has had a chance to review the state’s evidence against his client.

Leary said Murchison divided his time between the two states because he has two children in the Boston area and one in Auburn. Leary said his client was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, but Kennedy said she saw no documentation confirming that claim.

Murchison pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated trafficking of schedule W drug, a Class A felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He also pleaded not guilty to a charge of unlawful possession of a scheduled drug, a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

He was booked at Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on Tuesday afternoon, his electronic monitor removed after his probation officer in Massachusetts said it wasn’t needed if Murchison was in custody.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Matulis said Murchison had a “huge criminal history,” largely in Massachusetts, where he was discovered while a warrant from Maine was pending.

Convictions in that state include multiple assaults in 2002 and 2010 and multiple drug possessions in 2002 and 2009. He was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon in Maine in 2012.

Police arrested Murchison in March after executing a search warrant at his Birch Street apartment. The warrant was based on information gleaned from an earlier Operation Hot Spots-coordinated law enforcement operation in which officers from local, state and federal agencies worked together to target high crime areas.

Police seized more than 26 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of roughly $2,600 as well as cash believed to be the proceeds of drug sales.

Matulis said Murchison ran to the bathroom and tried to flush a bag with the crack, but police reached him in time to confiscate the drugs.

“We have an incredibly strong case,” Matulis said.

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