POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Drug Task Force has ruined the holiday season for several drug dealers who were under investigation. “Operation Silent Night” disrupted the supply chain of narcotics by targeting street-level dealers. The operation began in October and resulted in the arrest of six dealers. Another target of the investigation is still wanted and the task force indicated that the arrest is imminent.
Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Adam Harris supervises the task force and he told Mid-Hudson News that the operation aggressively targeted street-level dealers to disrupt the flow of narcotics in the area. “We purposely went after the dealers who make deadly drugs readily available. They prey on people who suffer from drug addiction and we are trying to minimize the impact these criminals have on our community and we have succeeded in removing six of these drug dealers from the streets where they peddle the poisons.”
The arrests are the result of investigations in LaGrange, Hyde Park, and the Town and City of Poughkeepsie. Seven suspects were identified, according to Harris, and the task force agents made more than 20 narcotics purchases from the targets. The dealers were working independently and not as an organized drug network.
During Operation Silent Night, a loaded illegal handgun, fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, proceeds from the sales of narcotics, and packaging and distribution materials were seized.
The arrests began on November 28, 2023, with the most recent arrest occurring on December 7, 2023.
- Ricard West, 32, was arrested on November 29 and charged with felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was arraigned vin the City of Poughkeepsie Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail.
- November 29 was also the day that Tahiem Patterson, 25, was charged with the felonies of criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a loaded handgun. Patterson was arraigned in the City of Poughkeepsie Court and sent to the Dutchess County Jail on $50,000 cash bail, $150,000 bond, or $300,000 partially-secured bond.
- Forty-one-year-old John Smith was arrested by task force agents on December 4 and charged with felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was arraigned in city court and released to the supervision of the Dutchess County Probation Department.
- Like Smith, James Morgan was arrested on December 4 and charged with felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. The 27-year-old was arraigned in Hyde Park Justice Court and released on an appearance ticket.
- Thirty-four-year-old Anne Adams was also taken into custody on December 4 and charged with felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. She was arraigned in the Pleasant Valley Justice Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail. The Adams case is based in the Town of Poughkeepsie.
- On December 7, 2023, Spencer Green, 46, was charged with felony criminal sale of a controlled substance, arraigned in the Town of Hyde Park Justice Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail for his Town of Poughkeepsie case.
“We will continue to make it difficult for drug dealers to make money by selling drugs to our most vulnerable members of the community,” Detective Sergeant Harris said. “We will arrest the dealers as many times as we have to before they give up or get sent to prison. It’s that simple.”
The Dutchess County Drug Task Force was assisted in this investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Bureau, City of Poughkeepsie Police Neighborhood Recovery Unit, Patrol Bureau and K-9 Unit and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Detective Division. The Hyde Park Police Department also provided vital assistance.
Harris said anyone who suspects there are drug dealers in their neighborhood can call the task force Drug Tip Line at 845-463-6040. Tips can also be sent to Drugtaskforcetips@gmail.com.
