The opioid trade has become so lucrative here that dealers from Baltimore and even New York travel to Hagerstown, and often farther into West Virginia, because they can earn up to $40 more a gram for heroin and a similarly higher profit margin for fake pills, like the counterfeit, fentanyl-laced Vicodin that killed Prince. The narcotics task force is a joint operation of the Washington County Sheriffs Office and the Hagerstown Police Department. The City Council will likely be forced to raise property taxes again this year. NOW PLAYING ABOVE. Nicholas Silverman, 20, Bronson Benjamin,33, both of Hagerstown, and Farrah Wisner, 19, of Baltimore were arrested and charged with possession. Grant was charged with five counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance that was not marijuana and two counts of distributing narcotics, according to online court records. College Park mayor, DC COVID Centers to close at the end of March, Mother calls for answers after son killed by police, MTPD: Two teenagers arrested, one had gun, Burglar used Germantown mans toothbrush, razor,, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Instead, he sought help by way of Suboxone (the commercial name for a combination of buprenorphineand naloxone), which he considers a miracle. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Economists studying national trends say people should simply vacate towns like Hagerstownand seek work elsewhere. There were a few people dedicated to establishing a Maryland orchestra, a few people trying to revive the Maryland Theatre. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Joan Mathias, who are prosecuting the case. Stay up to date with the latest community news written by award-winning editors and local reporters. People began to say, Oh, if it can happen to that family, it can happen to my family, Sterling says. Plainspoken but good-natured, and a well-respected journalist, Elliott started atTheHerald-Mailin 1970. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; and Sheriff Douglas Mullendore of the Washington County Narcotics Task Force. We kind of got shit pie handed to us., Source: Maryland Vital Statistics Administration. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Wares residence. a shuttered barber shop on Jonathan Street. Justin Ernest Riggs, 33, was arrested Saturday and is accused of leaking information to a drug trafficking organization . y any definition, the epidemic in this part of Maryland, a state with one of the top five death rates from opioids in the country, is among the worst anywhere. The Caroline County Drug Task Force started the investigation by looking into the operation of a drug trafficking organization believed to be distributing large amount of cocaine, opioids, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines in Caroline and Dorchester counties and parts of Delaware. An official website of the United States government. My daughter went to school with her. Up until that point, most people in Washington County viewed addiction as a criminal justice issue. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mayor Richard Trump (no relation to the president),who ran for office on a slate that promised to return God to City Hall, abruptly resigned without explanation after nine months in office in 2006. All Rights Reserved. A Maryland State Police corporal who occasionally works out of the Hagerstown barrack was arrested Saturday for allegedly leaking case information and abetting an illegal drug operation, according to federal court documents. Others walk from nearby apartments. 2 counts of conspiracy to commit possession with intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances, 3 counts of using a firearm in drug trafficking, Possession of a controlled dangerous substance not marijuana. Drugs, money, weapons confiscated during an operation last week in Hagerstown. The indictment also calls for the forfeiture of $400,000 in cash, a .22 caliber pistol, ammunition and six vehicles, all believed to be proceeds of the drug conspiracy. The NFT is housed within the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)at the DEAs Hagerstown Office. Most arent even here to get clean but to get by. As a result of the executed search warrant at Smiths storage unit, law enforcement located 15.4 grams of heroin, 8.9 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, digital scales with suspected heroin residue, numerous small plastic baggies, and a glass jar containing a suspected cutting agent. Anderson was charged with distribution of narcotics and possession of a controlled dangerous substance that was not marijuana, according to online court records. The drug task force is comprised of sworn law enforcement officers and contributionsfrom theCaroline County Sheriff's Department, Maryland State Police, Maryland Natural Resources Police, Caroline County States Attorney's Office, and the Denton Police Department. 100 West Washington Street Hagerstown, MD 21740. Holland is being held at the Dorchester County Detention Center without bond. On Monday, task force agents said they found Oliver with a significant amount of heroin. 2023 www.heraldmailmedia.com. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. 544,514 views Jun 30, 2016 $24 million dollars was found stuffed in the wall of a home in what's being called one police department's biggest cash seizure to date. Founded in 1986, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force (NFT) is comprised of members from the Hagerstown Department of Police and the Washington County Sheriffs Office. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Its low-income, and I think its hard for people to find and keep employment there, he says. Smith and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Smith will be sentenced to 92 months in federal prison followed by 4 years of supervised release. s the former managing editor of Hagerstowns daily newspaper,The Herald-Mail, Dave Elliott witnessed firsthand the citys downward spiral. Gregory Lovern Williams Jr., 39, of Federalsburg, Maryland. February 21, 2023. I cannot count the number of friends who have died after I almost did, says Katie Wetzel, 27, a recovering addict in Hagerstown who is now married with three kids. In the early 1980s, King ran a large drug operation in East Baltimore and was a well-known figure, driving a DeLorean sports car and smoking with a bejeweled Zippo. By Ron Cassie and Lauren LaRocca Photography by BENJAMIN C. TANKERSLEY | July 2018, By Ron Cassie and Lauren LaRocca. More than 80 percent of students at three Hagerstown public schools receive free or reduced-priced lunches. Three people were taken into custody in Washington County last week on drug charges involving fentanyl and crack cocaine. Police allege Anthony Latimer, 41, Hagerstown, was dealing drugs from his car when Alpha Platoon patrol officers approached the car in the 300 block of North Jonathan Street at 5:30 a.m. Latimer stepped . High 56F. Cameron Tibbs, one counts of distribution of heroin. A lot of them are just taking their normal dose and get hit with this new shit cut with fentanyl. Kevin Simmers relished locking up drug users, no matter how little crack they had on them. icki Sterling, director of the Washington County Health Departments Division of Behavorial Health Services, says the turning point for the county in addressing the opioid epidemic was the death of former Hagerstown police sergeant Kevin Simmers daughter, Brooke, who overdosed on heroin 10 days after she had been released from a four-month prison stay. Arrest made in Feb. 5 Hagerstown homicide. (ABC7) The news from Hagerstown wasn't good. Hagerstown, Washington County closer to seeing some opioid settlements, Fatal drug overdoses hit record levels during COVID, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy, Ana Ercilia Luna, 36, of Hagerstown and the Dominican Republic, Juan Manuel De La Rosa-Tejeda, also known as Little Papi, 35, of Hagerstown and the Dominican Republic, Daniel Inoa-Rodriguez, also known as Danny, 21, of Hagerstown, Tyrone Lewis, also known as "Roc," 42, of Hagerstown, Edwin Orrillio, also known as J Money, 34, of Hagerstown, Carlos M. Nunez-Arias, also known as Charlote, 51, of Hagerstown, Edson Velasquez-Lopez, 50, of Martinsburg, Chelsea Nicole Pinkcett, 33, of Martinsburg, Ronald MichaelBowers, 52, of Martinsburg, Devron Jerel Brown, also known as Country, 33, of Martinsburg. Law enforcement determined that the reported vehicle was registered to Smith and that the unit had been rented to Smith under a fraudulent New York State drivers license that bore Smiths photograph and the alias Michael Silver. These ongoing efforts build on one of Hagerstowns legacy assets, the lush City Park, utilized year-round, as well as the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts therein, where the new Cultural Trail begins before it winds toward downtown. Photography by Benjamin C. Tankersley | July 2018. the sun has yet to rise over South Mountain, but already a line of cars is arriving at the Phoenix Health Center in Hagerstown. Or an illegal immigrant? With the highways and economic factors, its all a perfect storm.. Additionally, in Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, who were Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. She can be reached via email at julieg@herald-mail.com. Before long, he was buying heroin because it was cheaper than pills, and he went from snorting to injecting it, simply to maintain the same highand eventually just to function, if you could call it that. A dog tied up behind Byers Market on North Burhans Boulevard. HAGERSTOWN, Md. First published on July 28, 2021 / 2:11 PM. Several weapons were seized, including two stolen handguns, as well as rifles and shotguns, Kerns said. She talks enthusiasticallyand genuinelyabout the $40-million downtown revitalization effort and Hagerstowns future. Contact WCNTF if you have information on these persons (301) 791-3205, (Use the blue dots to scroll the list of wanted persons). Add to all of this one more factor: Three prisons in Hagerstown, includings two state penitentiaries, have had a habit, according to local law enforcement officials, of leaving ex-offenders in town once theyre released. The Washington County Narcotics Task Force recovered approximately 188 grams of suspected heroin and 95 grams of suspected methamphetamine Monday from 807 Hamilton Blvd. Those kind of manufacturing jobs generally pulled up stakes for cheaper labor in the South or overseas, a trend that has continued. I wanted to be in narcotics. A sitting train and truck behind a lot along West Franklin Street. The alleged traffickers distributed drugs in Caroline and Dorchester counties, as well as parts of Delaware, according to police, who said investigators from multiple agencies developed enough. Nobody I know. On June 29, the task force said agents presented cases to a Grand Jury that resulted in the indictment of 16 Hagerstown residents. Kevin Simmers, a retired Hagerstown police officer, lost his 19-year-old daughter to an overdose and is now building a womens recovery center, Brookes House. Meanwhile, health care, housing, and education costs have skyrocketed over the ensuing decades, but wages, adjusted for inflation, have remained essentially flat in Hagerstown, growing just 5 percent in total over that 25-year span. The indictments were returned July 20, said Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard of the northern district of West Virginia. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Shortly after Grant was taken into custody, the task force executed a search-and-seizure warrant at 807 Hamilton Blvd., Kerns said. Weve been struggling for decades and hopefully this will get the ball rolling, she says. As the former Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts for Washington County Public Schools, Rob Hovermale was involved in conversations as early as 2000 about opening a public arts high school in Hagerstowntalks that were largely dismissed at the time. Big out-of-town industries such as Fairchild Aircraft, which once employed 10,000 people and closed its plant in 83, and Mack Trucks, which arrived in 1961 (and still makes trucks here, although it employs fewer people), were controlled from a distance and had no stake in the community, Elliott asserts. Torri Deann Richardson, 37, and Roger Dean Saylor III, 30, were. Walter Javier Martinez, 17, was last seen in the area of Wellington Court and may have left in a blue vehicle. Including Brookes father. People often use the term self-medicating to describe why people use drugs or alcohol, says Ron Zuskin, a licensed clinical social worker and former University of Maryland faculty member who has worked in Western Maryland. We get to engage and feel like were being a positive influence on the city.. Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. Frederick County Sheriff's Office Assists In Taking Down Major Drug Operation In Hagerstown Last Week February 13, 2023 - 3:40 pm Five people were arrested; large quantities of drugs confiscated. Citing a release from the U . However, the shops we visited had good deals and were brightly lit, clean and had nice staff. Over a period of about three years, he went from prescription Vicodin to shooting up heroin. The number of child abuse cases has gone up. In a Brookings Institution study of 114 metropolitan areas that specialized in manufacturing from 1980-2005, the Hagerstown-Martinsburg (West Virginia) area had the second-highest percentage of industry job change in the U.S., a staggering 70 percent. HAGERSTOWN, Md. The epidemic has not peaked yet by any means, says Mike Piercy, director of the Washington County Department of Social Services. These included the creation of a multi-jurisdictional Maryland State Police Heroin Investigation Unit to focus on mid-to-upper-level heroin and opioid distribution operations. U.S. Attorney's Office December 21, 2012. HAGERSTOWN, Md. in Hagerstowns North End, according to Lt. Todd Kerns, who served as the task forces director in 2013. The 30-count indictment alleges the operation trafficked large amounts of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride from Hagerstown toBerkeley County, West Virginia, between August2020and June of this year, according to a news release from Bernard's office. Three Hagerstown residents face drug charges after suspected heroin and suspected methamphetamine with a street value of approximately $50,000 was seized along with $9,000 in cash and several. Opioids may be the deadliest catastrophe to hit Hagerstown, but the current crisis follows a long string of blows to a city that never made the transition from a mechanical to a hi-tech economy. Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Bernard saidMota is accused of using hisbusiness, Top 3 Sources on West Washington Street, to store and sell drugs and launder the proceeds. Saturday mornings are the busiest days of the week because the drug treatment clinic is closed on Sundaysmeaning that several hundred people begin showing up at 5 a.m. to ensure that they can collect their extra day's supply . A months-long investigation initiated by citizen complaints resulted in the arrests of two suspected drug dealers Wednesday. For the past three years, the Simmerses have been working to build Brookes House in Washington County. Stephen McCormick, two counts of distribution of cocaine. Scrubbing Baltimores Marble Steps Was My Very First Job, How Actress Rachel Hilsons Baltimore Roots Influence Her Work Today, The Mount Vernon Virtuosi is Much More Than a Chamber Orchestra, Deer Park, MD Was Once an Elite VacationlandThanks in Part to its Famous Water, Artist James Evans Uses Photographs and Words to Combat Prejudice in Nature, Baltimore School for the Arts Debuts a Student-Run Newspaper. In an emotional press conference, she pointed the finger directly at the pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, which hired hundreds of sales representatives to promote their product and has been accused of using misleading information to hide the drugs addiction potential. Andrew Clopper, one count of distribution of heroin. Life is great now, he says. Still, they are something of a Hail Mary pass for municipalities. Christina Trenton Nee, COO, and Charlie Mooneyhan, CEO, of Wells House. The charges includeconspiracy to distribute drugs, possession with intent to distribute drugs, and money laundering. It could not be determined Wednesday if those arrested remained in custody or were on pre-trial release. Spain is being held without bond at the Caroline County Detention Center. Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. Hagerstown, MD 2 days ago. All it takes is a little fentanylor a microgram of carfentanyl, which is 100 times more potent. The school started with 85 students but this year surpassed 300, even though that meant holding classes in hallways and stairwells. Kerns said Anderson was part of an investigation that occurred prior to the search warrant being executed. Local Hagerstown, MD. "That is a snapshot, one day in the time of this case so that tells you that over the whole year of the investigation the breadth of this conspiracy and this illegal enterprise," Bernard said. HAGERSTOWN, Md. October of 2011, I woke up one day and thought, this is the day you die or the day you get clean. Four people were apprehended, three in relation to the possession of controlled substances, and one on an outstanding warrant. Two more telltale signs of Hagerstowns plight are present here as well: The countys storefront offices sit in an all-but-abandoned shopping center, and nearby is a Superfund site, less than a mile from three public schools, and still in need of remediation two decades after it was added to the EPAs National Priorities List. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. Forget Special Agent in Charge Washington, DC @DEAWashingtonDC June 29, 2022 Contact: Public Information Office Phone Number: (571) 362-1934 For Immediate Release Another resident artist, Anthony Jones Jr., is a recovering cocaine addict and alcoholic who credits artand Engine Roomas part of his salvation, giving him a sense of purpose and allowing him to be creative rather than self-destructive. The substance abuse treatment center sits across the street from an abandoned hospital parking garage (the hospital moved out of downtown like nearly everything else), and a seemingly endless stream of addicts in late-model cars, minivans, and pickup trucks come and go until the pharmacy closes at noon. More than 20 Hagerstown residents were indicted for drug trafficking after the Washington County Narcotics Task Force wrapped up a two month long drug investigation into the distribution of heroin, crack cocaine and spice in the area. The task force said Oliver was previously arrested by Hagerstown Police Department officers last Wednesday for fleeing on foot from a car accident in the south end of Hagerstown. (It also broke a record last year with eight homicides, sending its per capita murder rate past Philadelphia and Chicago.). The first three municipality lawsuits against drugmakersall Ohio casesare scheduled to be heard in U.S. District Court in Cleveland early next year. Grant was being held without bond Wednesday at the Washington County Detention Center. Tyler and Eddie Ware pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl on October 28, 2020, and January 11, 2021; respectively. The Frederick Police Department is seeking assistance locating a 17-year-old male, who has been missing since June. Police said a more than three-year investigation. Having beautiful open spaces is important, and its important to have a connection to your community, says city engineer Rodney Tissue, who moved to Hagerstown in 1986 and raised his two daughters here. Christina Boward, two counts of distribution of heroin. #washcoproud, CDS Possession/Use of Cocaine and Derivatives, CDS Possession/Use of Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl), CDS Sale/Manufacturing Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl), CDS Sale/Manufacturing Other Dangerous Drugs, CDS With Intent to Distribute Narcotics, Please contact Deb Fling at (301) 514-7373 or email, Washington County Government is hiring for full-ti, The Washington County Office of Emergency Manageme, SAVE THE DATE! And now, Hagerstowns unique coordinates, once its greatest asset, play a leading role in enabling its public health crisis. Two additional private methadone treatment centers have since opened in the area, not to mention the Washington County Health Departments outpatient addiction program, which treated more than 11,000 patients between 2013 and its closing this spring due to state budget cuts. . Quicker than ordering a pizza.". In recent decades, theyve swapped roles. Thirty-two-year-old City Councilwoman Emily Keller, a go-getter single mom and insurance agent, lost her oldest friend to an overdose and ran for office specifically to lead the fight against the opioid epidemic. Perhaps as many as three-quarters of those in local methadone programs, according to recovering addicts interviewed for this story, still get high, using coke, crack, ecstasy, Spice, or benzos like Xanax, which are particularly dangerous in combination with methadone. In an indictment unsealed on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur announced that four have been arrested and two are still being sought in connection with the Hagerstown drug bust. It is alleged that Luna Mota, the owner of Top 3 Sources, a business in Hagerstown, Maryland, was using his business on West Washington Street for the purpose of having and selling controlled substances. A handful, with newer haircuts and cars, might be professionalssomewhere in this politically conservative county. A local taxi company sporadically drops people off. The drugs seized during the investigation amounted to 8.6 kilograms of cocaine, 1.02 kilograms of heroin, and 12 ounces of crack cocaine, with a street value of approximately $471,000. The following people were indicted during the investigation: Justin Aaron Spain, 41, of Lanham, Maryland. Later, outside a Rotary Club meeting, Keller talks more optimistically about the citys current efforts to tackle the crisis. seventy-five miles west of Baltimore, the sun has yet to rise over South Mountain, but already a line of cars is arriving at the Phoenix Health Center in Hagerstown. Andre Luther Woolford, 33, of Hurlock, Maryland. The seized drugs have a street value of approximately $471,000, according to prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for October 7, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. 3, in Hagerstowns North End; and Daniel Matthew Anderson, 28, of 1008 Security Road, Apt. Simms is being held at the Caroline County Detention Center without bond. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. Beckette and Anderson were being held at the detention center Wednesday, each in lieu of a $50,000 bond. Travon Bristol, two counts possession with intent to distribute spice aka K-2 and one count of maintaining a common Nuisance. Derosiers isBeing held at the Dorchester County Detention Center held without bond. He was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of heroin. A Hagerstown appliance store owner is charged with using it as a front for an illegal drug operation estimated to havehandled millions of dollars worth of drugs and proceeds, according to federal authorities. While this is small victory for the task force, agents say the communitys drug problem is far from over. Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. I was gonna overdose and kill myself.. This pooling of investigative resources benefits each investigative unit with increased manpower, less duplication of effort, and by coordinating the targeting of drug offenders. The Caroline County Drug Task Force started the investigation by looking into the operation of a drug trafficking organization believed to be distributing large amount of cocaine, opioids,. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Wares residence. Authorities are reporting 12 people have been charged with sex offenses, and seven victims have been placed into the harm reduction program with the Washington County Health Department. The task force was assisted by the Washington County Special Response Team and the Hagerstown regional office of the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to an email from Kerns. The person arrested on the outstanding warrant was Violet Benjamin, 53, of Hagerstown. (DC News Now) The Hagerstown Police Department said officers executed a search and seizure warrant at 115 S. Mulberry St. on Oct. 7, finding fentanyl, crack cocaine, $5,000 cash, and firearms. In 2019, there were 119 non-fatal and 24 fatal overdoses reported in Allegany County. MARTINSBURG Allegedly using Top 3 Resources, an appliance store in Hagerstown, Maryland, as a front for having and selling controlled substances, 15 Eastern Panhandle residents were among those charged in an expansive drug-trafficking operation. on the U.S. Department of Justice website. According to his guilty plea, on March 18, 2019, law enforcement received an anonymous tip from a Hagerstown, Maryland storage facility customer reporting that an individual driving a large SUV and a storage unit conducted a suspected drug deal at the facility. Those charged are: Lenin Erasmo Luna Mota, also known as "Papi," 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland and the Dominican Republic For a century, Hagerstown had been the dominant city, and Frederick a little cow town. The huge A&W Johnston clock, first built in 1836 and later refurbished, still stands four stories above the town square in a period brick building. Read More. Although the city has seen little interest from developers for the empty lots along the trail, Tissue says several nearby buildings have been purchased and rehabbed. All rights reserved. The first search was in the 500 block of Lynnehaven Drive in Hagerstown. One (seemingly) solid mayor, Republican Donald Frush, who served from 1981-1985 and was known as the Father of Planning in Washington County, disappeared during his campaign for a second term and was found by a reporter at a Johns Hopkins psych ward. Drug & alcohol testing in Hagerstown, MD at 2 clinics. Additionally, in less than one month, Smith and Tyler contacted each other 714 times by cell phone.
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