18 Arrested After Investigation Into Drug Sales in Hudson Valley
Officials allege the group peddled drugs including heroin and fentanyl in the Hudson Valley and smuggled some into jail. Most have been released due to bail reform.
On Monday, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and City of Port Jervis Police Chief William Worden announced 18 have been charged with alleged crimes pertaining to the trafficking of crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and prescription drugs throughout Orange County.
“Let this, the latest in a series of enforcement actions under my watch, serve as a warning to those who seek to profit on the backs of the most vulnerable,” District Attorney David M. Hoovler said. “While drugs pour into our communities, we and our partners in law enforcement will not stop until we root out those who seed the poison into our neighborhoods. Dedicated police work like this will help prevent the needless deaths we see every day owing to the opioid crisis. "
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Officials allege drugs were trafficked in the City of Port Jervis, and surrounding areas.
Officials also say drugs were peddled into Orange County Jail.
From December 2021 through March 2022, undercover investigators purchased quantities of narcotics from individuals in and around the City of Port Jervis, officials say.
Information and evidence gathered during the undercover sales led to the execution of numerous search warrants that resulted in the recovery of additional narcotics and other tools of the drug trade, according to investigators.
Further investigation revealed the alleged smuggling of narcotics into the Orange County Jail.
The 18 were arrested and charged with crimes including the criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance, for allegldy selling narcotics, including crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl to undercover police officers.
Others were charged with promoting prison contraband for allegedly smuggling narcotics into the Orange County Jail. One was charged with prostitution.
Below is the list of names arrested and charged.
Many of those arrested were released without bail due to the recent bail reform statutes, officials say.
“Unfortunately, drugs have infiltrated every community in America and have killed countless men, women and children that were being supplied by those seeking a profit,” City of Port Jervis Mayor Kelly Decker said. “No family goes untouched in this terrible addiction and stopping profiteers in this demise is the fight that we need to continue to have, even if it keeps only one person from addiction or even dying. Over the last 3 months, our officers have worked in investigating and arresting individuals selling the poisons of crack cocaine, heroin and fentanyl to our residents."
The arrests are part of a multi-agency investigation and enforcement action conducted by the City of Port Jervis Police Department, the Orange County Drug Task Force (OCDTF), and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, who were assisted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group, the Town of Deerpark Police Department, and the Pike County District Attorney’s Office.