Sheriff Carl DuBois, center, had message for drug dealers: “We will unlease every lawful resource…”
as County Executive Steven Neuhaus, left, and Port Jervis Chief William Worden, listen
PORT JERVIS – A major heroin and weapons bust, resulting in the
arrest of six alleged drug dealers from the City of Port Jervis, was announced
Wednesday by Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler and local police
organizations involved in the investigation.
Dashell Jordan Powlus, 18, of Port Jervis, Anthony Caperna, 30, of Greenville, Lance Conklin, 28, of Port Jervis, Norman William Kingston, 53, of Port Jervis, Joseph Mann, 26, of Sparrowbush and Zachary Gogolen, 35, of Matamoras PA were all arrested between October 25 and November 17 due to a month-long investigation by the Orange County Drug Task Force and several local police departments, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orange County DA’s Office, working together. Community tips were also credited as being an important part of this investigation where $9,296 worth of heroin, crack cocaine and firearms were seized by authorities.
Port Jervis Police Chief William Worden said the bust led to what is a large drug seizure for Port Jervis and is helping to lessen the growing number of overdoses that have been happening in Port Jervis that are directly related to heroin usage.
“This is significant because of the amount of product that we seized over the past several weeks; it was a short investigation,” said Worden. “We’ve been finding that the overdoses that we are addressing are also directly related to the different narcotics dealing that’s occurring in our region; so, it’s important that we try continually to work together to identify who is selling the heroin.”
The chief added that they have discovered the majority, if not all, of the heroin coming into Port Jervis is being brought in from Patterson and Newark, New Jersey, where it is purchased for wholesale prices then sold locally for between a 250 percent to 300 percent mark-up. In light of this revelation, whereas the county would normally advocate treatment as the better alternative to incarceration, DA Hoovler said they will be pushing for the incarceration of these individuals.
“Treatment is an option for people that are ready, willing and able to receive it who want to get well,” said Hoovler. “People that are making substantial profit off of selling, even if they are addicted themselves, treatment can be an option but, these individuals and people like this, treatment is really not a good option because look at the significant amounts of money they are making off the drug trade. It’s a business for them; they may be addicted but, it is a significant business and more importantly, they’re armed, they’re as well armed as our military is based on what you see on that table; so, therefore, treatment is not an option.”
Hoovler is not exaggerating with the statement, ‘they’re as well armed as our military’. Of the AR-15 and 12-gauge shotgun that were seized, both had optics fitted on them that clearly stated they were for military and policing use only.
The law enforcement agencies of Orange County are firmly dedicated to mitigating the heroin problem in the region as best as they can. To show their resolve, Orange County Sheriff Carl Dubois closed with a message to the drug dealers of Orange County.
“We’re going to be waiting for you,” Dubois said. “We’re going to be watching for you. You come into Orange County… we’re going to find you and we will unleash every lawful resource that we have to stop you, to arrest you and the people behind me, to prosecute you and put you away.”
