A nine-month investigation into sales of heroin, cocaine and PCP in Orange County led to many more guilty pleas. The group allegedly made over $3 million selling drugs.

In May, an Orange County grand jury charged 35 with felonies related to conspiring to sell cocaine and heroin, largely in the Newburgh area.

On March 13, police executed 16 search warrants and arrested over 30 people on felony charges as part of a nine-month narcotics investigation, dubbed “Operation Family Ties.”

The investigation targeted the distribution of heroin, cocaine, PCP and marijuana in the City of Newburgh and several surrounding towns in Orange County, police say.

The investigation began in June of 2016, when police learned about a potential drug operation in the area of 170 Carson Avenue in the City of Newburgh.

On Tuesday, the following people pleaded guilty in connection to the “Operation Family Ties” narcotics conspiracy investigation:

  • Lamont Williams, Sr.: Conspiracy, Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
  • Steven Hall: Conspiracy
  • Corey Arnold: Conspiracy
  • Sabrina Herring: Conspiracy
  • Gabriel Richards: Conspiracy
  • Corey Perdue: Conspiracy, Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance
  • Joseph Horace: Conspiracy
  • Ryan Nagle: Conspiracy
  • William McNeill: Conspiracy
  • Earnest Washington: Conspiracy

Williams faces up to 20 years in prison, Hall 15. Others face shorter sentences, authorities say.

“Organized drug conspiracies are helping to fuel the opioid epidemic, by making enormous profits off the suffering of people who are addicted and can’t help themselves,” Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said.  “Operation Family Ties represents the success that law enforcement can have through coordinated efforts to attack high-level drug dealers and offenders who shield themselves from prosecution by dealing drugs through lower-level conspirators.”

In addition to the criminal charges, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed a suit against many of the defendants to seize over $3,000,000 in profits earned by selling drugs.

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