Some of the NFT agents are also federally deputized members of the DEA, which gives these local agents enforcement powers anywhere in the United States. During the execution of the search warrant, Smith informed law enforcement that he had a storage unit in Hagerstown, Maryland, and told officers where he kept the keys to the unit. Maybe 10-15 percent dont give you any problem and are trying to do the right thing, says Lee Green, an addictions counselor who is also an active member of a 12-step program. (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. 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. 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. 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. Several charged in Cumberland area prostitution sting The search warrants were a result of a multi- state . Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. She tried treatment and rehab several times, and even laid down on the familys lawn once, begging her father to shoot her to put her out of her misery. -- The number of meth cases, particularly of one-pot meth labs in Western Maryland, has been experiencing a recent surge. Hitachi Rail Factory "on track" in Hagerstown. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. After being arrested on July 1, police said Oliver assaulted an officer and was found with a controlled dangerous substance. From March 20 to April 24, 2019, law enforcement surveilled activity at the suspected unit on a daily basis and observed Smith opening the storage unit to weigh and process suspected narcotics for distribution. The arrests were made during an eight-week investigation that was centered in the Queen City Drive and Park Street areas and was launched in response to complaints from citizens, businesses and visitors concerning the solicitation of prostitution. Though extreme, the transition seemed gradual. I wanted to knock down doors and haul bad guys off to jail, and thats what I did for 30 years., Since his daughters death, Simmers and Brooke's stepmother, Dana, have been very public about sharing their experience, sparing none of their familys worst moments and pain. NTF has partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Hagerstown Resident Office and works closely with Hagerstown Police Department's Street Crime Unit. Youll see people dressed up nice to see a play or film, and you have addicts walking around, says Matthew Hast, a sculptor who lives at Engine Room. #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! She highlighted not just the personal toll of the opioid epidemic on families but decreasing property values, its effect on businesses and workforce participation rates, and the immense strain placed on the citys police, EMS, and fire department budgets. 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 firearms during a drug bust this week involving multiple agencies, officials said. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Wares residence. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Wares residence. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. As Western Maryland battles the opioid crisis, meth is surging - DEA About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . A sitting train and truck behind a lot along West Franklin Street. Thats how strong the grip of this addiction is.. Washington County > Washington County Maryland Narcotics Task Force. Rise of a street boss By 1973,. Its a huge step forward. A mortality rate increase for any first-world demographic group had been virtually unheard of for decades, with the exception of Russian men after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a phenomenon blamed on soaring alcoholism rates. Martinsburg Police Chief George Swartwood said the arrests and seizures of drugs represent "more to this community than just numbers on a page.". Hes married with children and living his dream of being a full-time musician, touring his original folk-country songs across the U.S. 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. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. We kind of got shit pie handed to us., Source: Maryland Vital Statistics Administration. From March 20 to April 24, 2019, law enforcement surveilled activity at the suspected unit on a daily basis and observed Smith opening the storage unit to weigh and process suspected narcotics for distribution. High 56F. He is being held at the Washington County Detention Center on a $80,000 bond. Theyll deliver. Michael Romito, three counts of distribution of heroin. The Caroline and Dorchester County Task Forces, Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration, were further assisted by Dorchester County States Attorneys Office, Dorchester County Sheriffs Office, MSP Special Operations Group, MSP STATE Team, MSP Homicide, MSP PACE, MSP Gun Unit, MSP Criminal Investigations (Easton, Centreville, Salisbury, Princess Anne and Worcester), MSP Technical Surveillance Unit, Easton Police Department, Wicomico County Sheriffs Office, Talbot County Narcotics Task Force, Kent County Narcotics Task Force, Queen Annes County Narcotics Task Force, Somerset County Narcotics Task Force, Queen Anne's County Sheriffs Office, Federalsburg Police, and the Hurlock Police Department. Theyre bringing in students from nearby counties and occasionally out of state. Shortly after Grant was taken into custody, the task force executed a search-and-seizure warrant at 807 Hamilton Blvd., Kerns said. 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 . 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. Additionally, through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, who were Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. George Wallace campaigned here in 1968 and 1972. . A drug bust by Hagerstown (MD) Police Department early this morning resulted in the confiscation of crack cocaine and nearly $4,000 in cash. Police In Western Maryland Dismantle Sex Trafficking Operation Nine People Indicted in Historic Drug Bust on Maryland Eastern Shore George Alfred Butler, 56, of Federalsburg, Maryland. Read More. Everyone had a story., n its heyday, Hagerstown built the massive Fairchild transport planes that carried U.S. troops across the Pacific during the Korean War; post-war, they made Boeing jets. Including Brookes father. When his Vicodin prescription ended, he started buying it on the street, until 5-milligram Vicodins werent enough. Doctor Explains. We have more kids living with their grandparents and a greater need for foster parents. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The man seemed nervous. Peanut King: After 37 years in prison, a giant of Baltimore's drug 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. If we were somehow able to turn around the [addiction] numbers today, it would take another 20 years to shake off the damage., police investigating a burglary on West Franklin Street. Some folksa waitress with an apron tied around her waist, a guyin construction gearare clearly stopping by on their way to a job. 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. NOW PLAYING ABOVE. The first indictment names 25 defendants accused in one or more of the drug conspiracies. 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. He is being held at Eastern Regional Jail in Berkeley County, W.Va. Federal authorities allege the drug ring involved millions of dollars worth of drugs and proceeds, distributing large amounts. More than 1,000 pounds of prescription medicine is collected in the first two hours of the event, which is held in an empty parking lot outside the county health offices. Its these fast-rolling interstates that carry the deadly opioids, including heroin and fetanyl, flooding Marylands western counties. Can Hagerstown Kick Its Habit? - Baltimore Magazine Its nearly impossible to find a family, including those among the Hagerstown Police Department and City Council, that has not been affected by the towns still-escalating opioid epidemic. Hagerstown PD's Biggest Drug Bust Caught On Film By Copwatch HTOWN Stephen McCormick, two counts of distribution of cocaine. Carroll County drug dealers arrested on federal charges - WMAR One of the biggest mistakes city officials made was failing to sufficiantly upgrade Municipal Stadium, the nearly 90-year-old home of the minor league Hagerstown Suns, or build a new ballpark downtown. 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. 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. 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. In the first decades after World War II, during the early rumblings of the automobile age, Hagerstown continued to thrive, becoming a trucking hub as well a rail hub. A huge component of this initiative includes a $40-million effort, started in 2017, which will expand three key institutionsthe University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, the Maryland Theatre, and Barbara Ingram School for the Artswith a slated completion date of spring of 2020. Heroin Highway: Part 5 - Hagerstown, Md. 'Round the clock emergency' - WJLA Plainspoken but good-natured, and a well-respected journalist, Elliott started atTheHerald-Mailin 1970. The C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Canal, which passes through Washington County and primarily transported coal, was already in operation by then, having been completed in 1850. Ozempic Face showing up in Hagerstown? Doctor Explains Drugs, money, weapons confiscated during an operation last week in Hagerstown. Nobody I know. , Rep. Hoyer on legacy, traditions and Speaker McCarthy, How much more DMV residents will pay for healthcare, Husband of missing DC real estate executive arrested, Virginia H.S. Some NTF agents are even deputized by the DEA as Federal Task Force Officers (TFO's). On Tuesday afternoon, the following people were brought into custody: Thor Swenson, two counts of distribution of heroin. More than 20 indicted after drug bust in Hagerstown - DC News Now Employment or private drug testing options: 5, 10, 12 panel urine drug tests, DOT drug testing and DOT Random Pool, breath alcohol, EtG 3 day alcohol tests, 90 day hair follicle drug tests. Narcotics Task Force | Hagerstown, MD - Official Website Walter Javier Martinez, 17, was last seen in the area of Wellington Court and may have left in a blue vehicle. Quicker than ordering a pizza.". On February 19, city health officials reported the number of heroin overdoses to which EMS crews and city police responded to. The seizures, and the refills, continued for about eight months, then ceased, but Morningstar found himself dependent on the narcoticphysically, mentally, and emotionally. Hagerstown investigation leads to arrests of 2 alleged drug dealers The 30-count indictment alleges the operation trafficked large amounts of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride from Hagerstown to Berkeley County, West Virginia, between. Major Drug and Weapons Bust Announced from February 9th in Hagerstown Police Seize 83 Pounds of Meth in Massive Montgomery Co. Drug Bust 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. Four people were apprehended, three in relation to the possession of controlled substances, and one on an outstanding warrant. Just like all shopping centers it's half empty now and easy to find parking. Hagerstown is still a meat and potatoes kind of place, says Elliott. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Joan Mathias, who are prosecuting the case. Jim Robison, Director for the Washington County Narcotics Task Force. Situated near the Potomac River and what was once Western Maryland and West Virginia coal country, Hagerstown served as a vital gateway to the fertile Midwest. Michelle Lynn Spain, 48, of Preston, Maryland, James Eugene Simms, 36, of Great Mills, Maryland. 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. HAGERSTOWN, Md. ; Cody William Grant, 26, of 826 Dewey Ave., Apt. 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. And for the past two-and-a-half decades, the city has taken a public health approach to addiction, offering methadone programs, needle exchanges, HIV testing, and inpatient treatment opportunities before the pharmaceutical industry dumped OxyContin and other opioids onto a nave market. 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. $90K worth of cocaine found in Hagerstown home, three arrested - WMAR Hagerstown, MD 3 days ago. 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. We need to maintain a sense of hope. But he moved his family to Pennsylvania a couple years ago, leaving Hagerstown behind. Im not in economic development, but you also cant help but wonder, how do you build a workforce and attract new businesseswhich we desperately needwhen this is happening everywhere in your community?. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. You can imagine as a police officer and a father how I felt, Simmers says. The state Attorney General's Office announced that 13 people, including a dietary sergeant at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Anne Arundel County, were indicted on charges they. Lewis Chamberlain, two counts of distribution of heroin. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. The first search was in the 500 block of Lynnehaven Drive in Hagerstown. But after 50 years of decline, Elliott and others say downtown is finally showing signs of recovery, even if it is a long road ahead. Kristie Lockhard, a 38-year-old recovering addict volunteering at the event, says when she first started using heroin in 1999, she would drive to Baltimore two or three times a day to buy it. 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 Possession/Use Opium (Heroin) CDS Sale/Manufacturing Cocaine, CDS Possession/Use- Cocaine CDS Possession/Use of Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl) CDS With Intent to Distribute Narcotics, CDS Possession- Not Cannabis CDS Possession/Use, (Use the blue dots to scroll the list of recent arrests). Smith accessed the storage unit on 39 separate occasions and obtained at least 250 grams of narcotics during his visits. As a result of those search warrants, police recovered over 18 kilograms of cocaine, 2.7 kilograms of heroin/fentanyl, 5.9 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 170 pounds of marijuana and approximately 34 firearms along with money believed to be connected to the drug operation. First published on July 28, 2021 / 2:11 PM. Kimberly Thompson, one count of maintaining a common nuisance for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Hagerstown built automobiles, bottled Coca-Cola, made shoes, clothing, furniture, and Breyers ice cream, and was the worlds largest manufacturer of pipe organs. The task force also arrested Shawn Oliver on Monday for having an active warrant out for his arrest for the distribution of heroin, police said. She also cites the new safe needle program implemented by the county health departmentalbeit over the objection of a couple of state delegatesto combat Hepatitis C and HIV infections. Additionally, in less than one month, Smith and Tyler contacted each other 714 times by cell phone. A Hagerstown appliance store was allegedly used as a hub for the illegal activities. Others sell or trade their methadone or bupe (opioid medications used to suppress withdrawal symptoms) to buy the real thing, faking drug tests to game the system. Baltimore, Maryland Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. The National Road, Route 40, began carrying wagon trains through Hagerstown to the Ohio River Valley in 1818. On June 29, the task force said agents presented cases to a Grand Jury that resulted in the indictment of 16 Hagerstown residents. Instead, you go get high and forget about it for a while., Forty-year-old Brooks Zombro, who has lived in Hagerstown his whole life, puts it another way: Hagerstown is a manufacturing town, then we lost all those factory jobs our parents and grandparents had, [and] it has become a playground for big box retail that has all but eliminated and destroyed our downtowns small business district. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Contact WCNTF if you have information on these persons (301) 791-3205, (Use the blue dots to scroll the list of wanted persons). It's hard to imagine Hagerstown and similar cities receiving restitution anywhere near the true cost of the opioid epidemic and officials acknowledge that. Agents say anyone wishing to report narcotics information is encouraged to contact the task force by calling 301-791-3205, emailing drugtip@washco-md.net, orvisiting their website at wcntf.net. Eastern Shore drug trafficking organization dismantled: police - WBAL Those kind of manufacturing jobs generally pulled up stakes for cheaper labor in the South or overseas, a trend that has continued. The charges includeconspiracy to distribute drugs, possession with intent to distribute drugs, and money laundering.
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