POUGHKEEPSIE – Several members of a Dutchess-based gun and drug trafficking network were arrested Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning by state troopers following an investigation that began in April 2022. The arrested were named in two sealed indictments opened by Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin on Wednesday morning. Four individuals were indicted on 154 crimes related to the trafficking of ghost guns and assault weapons. A separate 63-count indictment charged seven subjects with the trafficking of several thousand counterfeit oxycodone pills that were actually fentanyl. Several of the individuals were named in both indictments.
The arrests recovered 31 firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, approximately 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl with a street value of about $150,000, and approximately $55,000 in cash, according to New York State Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James at a press conference at New York State Police Troop K Headquarters in Salt Point on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after two of her deputy attorneys general were in court for the arraignment of nine of the charged defendants. The tenth was taken into custody in Florida and will be extradited to New York.
“The individuals arrested today operated a dangerous network that trafficked untraceable ghost guns and flooded New York communities with fentanyl,” said Attorney General James. “This operation was made possible through my office’s partnerships with state and local law enforcement,” Attorney General James continued. The arraignments were the result of an eighteen-month joint investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and the New York State Police’s (NYSP) Special Investigations Unit – Hudson Valley (SIU-HV) and Troop K – Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team (K-VGNET). The state authorities were assisted by the Dutchess County Drug Task Force, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Poughkeepsie police.
The investigation began in April 2022 and centered around the activities of Muayad “Junior” Qader, 34, a Town of Poughkeepsie resident. Authorities say Qader sold firearms and drugs out of the Valero gas station on Route 55 across from Arlington High School in LaGrange. Qader worked at the station which is operated by his uncle. He is also accused of selling drugs from his Janet Drive residence in the Town of Poughkeepsie where he lives with his wife and children. During the investigation, the defendants and their co-conspirators frequently utilized coded and cryptic terminology in an attempt to disguise their illicit activities, such as referring to ghost guns as “ghosties,” and the counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl as “erks,” “urks,” and “percs.”
The original investigation into the illegal firearms targeted Qader and three others who were indicted; Verbank resident Jason Knapp, 43 is accused of supplying Qader with weapons, as did Joseph “Joey” Silverman, 30, arrested in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and LaGrange resident Louis Gonzalez, 53, who is said to have supplied Qader with firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The firearms trafficking investigation resulted in the recovery of:
- 31 firearms, including 14 un-serialized AR-style ghost gun rifles,
- two serialized non-compliant AR-style rifles,
- a defaced AR-style rifle,
- a defaced magazine-fed shotgun,
- a Polymer-80 ghost gun pistol,
- and a defaced Glock-21 pistol.
- An AR-style ghost gun upper receiver and,
- an AR-style ghost gun lower receiver.
- 19 high-capacity magazines.
- Hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The 154-count gun trafficking indictment contains counts for various felony firearms offenses, including charges against Qader and Knapp for felony criminal sale of a firearm, punishable by 25 years in prison, and various counts of criminal possession of a weapon, as well as conspiracy to commit those crimes.
The narcotics investigation
Beginning in January 2023, investigators uncovered Qader’s drug trafficking operation, in which he sourced counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl from several individuals in Dutchess County, according to Attorney General James. The pills were dyed and stamped to resemble prescription oxycodone, but contained only fentanyl, “putting users in grave danger” said the attorney general. The investigation revealed a drug trafficking network in which Poughkeepsie resident Curtis Holland, 32, would supply pills to 27-year-old Isaiah Atkins of Poughkeepsie, who would then supply Qader’s primary source, Aaron Steppe, a 29-year-old Poughkeepsie resident. Steppe would meet Qader at the Valero station, transporting the pills in his car with his roommate, Christopher Evans, 34, of Poughkeepsie, or his girlfriend, Angel Williams, age 24. The investigation also revealed that 39-year-old Stephen Gary of LaGrange supplied counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to Qader at the Valero Gas Station.
The investigation into the narcotics trafficking network led to the recovery of:
- Approximately 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, with an approximate street value of $150,000.
- Drug paraphernalia, including bags and scales, used to package and measure narcotics.
- Approximately $55,000 in cash.
The 63-count narcotics trafficking indictment, unsealed Wednesday by Judge McLoughlin, contains counts for various felony narcotics offenses, including felony charges against Qader, Steppe, Atkins, and Gary for criminal sale of a controlled substance which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and various counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance as well as conspiracy to commit those crimes.
The subjects arraigned on Wednesday morning by Judge McLoughlin include:
- Christopher Evans – Released to probation on electronic monitoring because no charges were bail-eligible.
- Angel Williams – Released to probation on electronic monitoring because no charges were bail-eligible.
- Aaron Steppe – Released to probation on electronic monitoring because no charges were bail-eligible.
- Luis Gonzales – Remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail.
- Isaiah Atkins – Released to probation on electronic monitoring because no charges were bail-eligible.
- Stephen Gary – Released to probation on electronic monitoring because no charges were bail-eligible.
- Jason Knapp – Remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail.
Judge McLoughlin expressed his frustration with bail reform when arraigning Steppe, saying “It’s astonishing that this court is not allowed to set bail on you, despite the 39-count indictment.” In remanding Jason Knapp, arraigned on 90 charges, several of which are felony criminal sale of a firearm, McLoughlin indicated he was remanding the defendant without bail because of the “overwhelming nature of the allegations.”
Charges for all of the defendants range from felony conspiracy to criminal sale of a firearm. All of the defendants are due back in Dutchess County Court on March 1, 2024.
