POUGHKEEPSIE – A Beacon man has been arrested by the Dutchess County Drug Task Force after an investigation into the subject’s continued drug sales despite having been arrested on drug charges by the task force in August 2022. Stefon Graham, 33, who was a resident of Massachusetts when previously arrested, was indicted by a Dutchess County Grand Jury for new drug charges following the latest investigation.
When Graham was arrested in 2022 in Beacon, he was a resident of Springfield, MA. The suspect, with a lengthy criminal record, had cocaine at the time of his arrest. At his arraignment for felony criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, he was released on his own recognizance by Beacon City Court Judge Gregory Johnston.
Graham entered a guilty plea to criminal possession of a controlled substance in June for the 2022 arrest. He was sent to a New York State Judicial Diversion program on the same day he pled guilty. The program is an alternative to the standard criminal court process that allows felony offenders to avoid prison if they complete the diversion program.
Shortly after entering the program, the task force says, Graham began selling narcotics to undercover members of the task force.
Task force supervisor Detective Sergeant Adam Harris said the evidence presented to the grand jury resulted in the admitted drug dealer being indicted on three felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and three felony counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance. If convicted, Graham faces a maximum of nine years in prison for the 2022 conviction and nine years in prison for each of the six charges in the new indictment.
On October 30, Graham was arrested by the task force, arraigned, and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail.
“The Dutchess County Drug Task Force made a promise to Dutchess County residents that Drug Dealers will be aggressively targeted anywhere they decide to sell narcotics in Dutchess County to prevent overdose deaths,” Harris said, adding “This indictment and arrest is just another example of a promise kept by the Dutchess County Drug Task Force.”
Graham’s criminal record includes a 2018 arrest in Springfield, MA following a police investigation into “shots fired.” During the investigation, the alleged dope dealer was arrested with a juvenile and another adult. Graham and the other adult were charged with felonies of carrying a loaded firearm without a license, possession of a firearm in a felony, carrying a firearm on a public way, improper storage of a firearm, and possession of ammunition without an FID card.
During that arrest, police also seized approximately eight bags of cocaine and found marijuana and a digital scale inside the car. Graham was also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and his partner was charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.
If anyone has information regarding this case or about any other individuals selling drugs in Dutchess County, you are urged to contact the Drug Task Force confidential tip line at 845-463-6040 or by sending an email to DrugTaskForceTips@gmail.com.
