PORT JERVIS – Some 10,000 packets of heroin with a street value of $100,000 were seized and a major drug dealer arrested on Thursday as authorities took down Richard McInturff, 30, at his 146 Jersey Avenue, Port Jervis home.
He was charged with two counts of narcotics possession as a major drug trafficker and if convicted, could face 25 years to life in state prison.
Members of the Port Jervis Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group executed a search warrant at McInturff’s residence and seized 27 ounces of heroin packaged for sale in 7,658 packets, $2,000 in cash and a digital scale.
Another 3,500 packets of suspected heroin were recovered during the course of the investigation.
District Attorney David Hoovler said McInturff is believed to have sold over $75,000 worth of drugs including heroin and fentanyl from mid-March 2020 to this mid-March.
McInturff was arraigned and remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail.
It is alleged that after his arraignment in Port Jervis City Court, he attempted to escape from the custody of officers by pushing them and attempting to flee. He was prevented from escaping after a struggle. As a result, he was charged with attempted escape as a felony.
Assisting Port Jervis Police in the drug sales investigation were the Orange County DA’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, Sussex County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office and Narcotics Task Force, and New Jersey State Police.
Port Jervis Chief William Worden reminded the public that if they see something, they should say something. If it happens in his city, he urged residents to call his confidential tips line at 845-858-4003.
DA Hoovler said this was one of the largest, if not the largest, seizure of narcotics in the history of Port Jervis “and underscores the magnitude of the opioid epidemic.”
The DA said those who are addicted to drugs “need and deserve our compassion and assistance, (but) those who profit from selling these frequently lethal substances deserve punishment, particularly those who sell large quantities for profit.”
