Domestic Cannabis Suppression / Eradication Program, Red Ribbon Toolkit - Resources For Your Community, DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Intelligence Research Specialist Job Announcements, Schedule A Hiring Authority: Intelligence Research Specialist, Privacy Impact Assessment and Management Information Systems, Victim Witness Assistance Program Resources. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( These ongoing efforts build on one of Hagerstowns legacy assets, the lush City Park, utilized year-round, as well as the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts therein, where the new Cultural Trail begins before it winds toward downtown. Dealers now have their own pill presses, explains Drug Enforcement Administration agent Robert Grob at a recent Drug Take Back Day, a collaboration between the Hagerstown Police Department, county health department, and the DEA that encourages local residents to turn in leftover medication for safe disposal. Additionally, in less than one month, Smith and Tyler contacted each other 714 times by cell phone. Baltimore, Maryland Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Kimberly Thompson, one count of maintaining a common nuisance for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Additionally, through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, who were Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. The first indictment names 25 defendants accused in one or more of the drug conspiracies. You have permission to edit this article. Additionally, in less than one month, Smith and Tyler contacted each other 714 times by cell phone. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $410,016 in cash, six vehicles and a .22-caliber revolver and ammunition. People often use the term self-medicating to describe why people use drugs or alcohol, says Ron Zuskin, a licensed clinical social worker and former University of Maryland faculty member who has worked in Western Maryland. Methadone, he argues, is a drug just like heroin. He found an opiate specialist doctor and took Suboxone for about a year, then safely weaned off. (DG) - A sex trafficking operation was dismantled in Washington County. Now its everywhere here, she says. Washington, D.C. Man Convicted After Nine-Day Trial for Use of a Firearm in Connection with a Murder and a Robbery, and for a Drug Distribution Conspiracy. To learn more about ChatGPT and how we can inspire students, we sat down with BestReviews book expert, Ciera Pasturel. Its not as conscious a decision as that. Whether these efforts, which remain largely public investmentschools, libraries, parkscan spark enough commercial interest to compete with the Valley Mall, the two Walmart Supercenters, and the Premium Outlets remains to be determined. By Ron Cassie and Lauren LaRocca Photography by BENJAMIN C. TANKERSLEY | July 2018, By Ron Cassie and Lauren LaRocca. Just like all shopping centers it's half empty now and easy to find parking. Maybe longer. Lewis Chamberlain, two counts of distribution of heroin. This pooling of investigative resources benefits each investigative unit with increased manpower, less duplication of effort, and by coordinating the targeting of drug offenders. HAGERSTOWN, Md. The search warrants were a result of a multi- state . As a result of the executed search warrant at Smiths storage unit, law enforcement located 15.4 grams of heroin, 8.9 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, digital scales with suspected heroin residue, numerous small plastic baggies, and a glass jar containing a suspected cutting agent. Weve been struggling for decades and hopefully this will get the ball rolling, she says. All it takes is a little fentanylor a microgram of carfentanyl, which is 100 times more potent. Ive seen growth in investor confidence, says Director of Community & Economic Development Jill Frick Thompson, attributing it to the citys 10-year plan. Hagerstown investigation leads to arrests of 2 alleged drug dealers Now, however, nearly all of the rails leading into downtown have been removed. Maryland drug bust involving fentanyl, cocaine He is being held at Eastern Regional Jail in Berkeley County, W.Va. Federal authorities allege the drug ring involved millions of dollars worth of drugs and proceeds, distributing large amounts. (Photos from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office) Michelle Lynn Spain, 48, of Preston, Maryland, James Eugene Simms, 36, of Great Mills, Maryland. 34 indicted in drug ring run from Hagerstown appliance store, feds say Press Release. The mayor and City Council at the time didnt want it. The opioid trade has become so lucrative here that dealers from Baltimore and even New York travel to Hagerstown, and often farther into West Virginia, because they can earn up to $40 more a gram for heroin and a similarly higher profit margin for fake pills, like the counterfeit, fentanyl-laced Vicodin that killed Prince. Images courtesy of Hagerstown police Department. A locked padlock While this is small victory for the task force, agents say the communitys drug problem is far from over. Thats a lot of drugs, Kerns said Wednesday in a phone interview. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. "If they just had a pipefine . Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. The two have been charged in connection with a drug distribution conspiracy in the Westminster area of Carroll County, Maryland. Others arrive in pajamas and sweatpants, barely awake, clutching telltale lockboxes for take-home doses. Consider, for example, that three of the four railroad properties on the Monopoly board were spokes in that Hagerstown hub, connecting the city to Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York. The C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Canal, which passes through Washington County and primarily transported coal, was already in operation by then, having been completed in 1850. Simmers, an outgoing, thick-shouldered 53-year-old, joined the military out of high school in the early 1980s with the intention of going into law enforcement. The steel tracks of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad started carrying locomotives from Baltimore in the same direction, straight through the heart of Hagerstown, two years after the end of the Civil War. Stretching from New York to Tennessee and Baltimore to Utah respectively, I-81 and I-70 are two of the longest interstates in the U.S., and they intersect in Hagerstown. Walter Javier Martinez, 17, was last seen in the area of Wellington Court and may have left in a blue vehicle. Carroll County drug dealers arrested on federal charges - WMAR This isnt political. For the past three years, the Simmerses have been working to build Brookes House in Washington County. She can be reached via email at julieg@herald-mail.com. Across the country, rural addiction rates have surpassed those in urban areas, yet there is still not a single inpatient drug treatment facility in Washington County. A Hagerstown appliance store was allegedly used as a hub for the illegal activities. I fully bought into the War on Drugs and what Reagan was doing, he says. I was on the other side, and I get it, and people have every right to make that point.. Kerns said Anderson was part of an investigation that occurred prior to the search warrant being executed. To me, the urban improvement project is huge. During the execution of the search warrant, Smith informed law enforcement that he had a storage unit in Hagerstown, Maryland, and told officers where he kept the keys to the unit. MARTINSBURG Allegedly using Top 3 Resources, an appliance store in Hagerstown, Maryland, as a front for having and selling controlled substances, 15 Eastern Panhandle residents were among those charged in an expansive drug-trafficking operation. The person arrested on the outstanding warrant was Violet Benjamin, 53, of Hagerstown. In truth, Hagerstown has a higher poverty rate than Baltimore City, a higher percentage of people under 65 with a disability, lower home-ownership rates, and a lower percentage of its workforce with college degrees. At Meritus Medical Center outside of downtown Hagerstown, nearly three children a week are born addicted to opioids. (Currently affiliated with the Nationals, the Suns draw a South Atlantic league-low 896 fans per game; Frederick led the Carolina League in attendance from 2012-2016, attracting nearly 5,000 fans a game.). All rights reserved. Maryland bust nets $1M in drugs, 9 arrests, 34 guns Authorities said they seized more than $1 million in drugs, including 18 kilograms of cocaine, 2.7 kilograms of heroin and . Founded in 1986, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force (NFT) is comprised of members from the Hagerstown Department of Police and the Washington County Sheriffs Office. Kevin Simmers, a retired Hagerstown police officer, lost his 19-year-old daughter to an overdose and is now building a womens recovery center, Brookes House. Police said a more than three-year investigation. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Clear skies. Had we not gotten this building donated, it never wouldve happened, says Hovermale, whos lived in Hagerstown most of his life and now serves as principal of BISFA. In 2019, there were 119 non-fatal and 24 fatal overdoses reported in Allegany County. NTF has partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Hagerstown Resident Office and works closely with Hagerstown Police Department's Street Crime Unit. Even as other Rust Belt towns declinelosing union jobs, community, status, and a general hope for a brighter futurethe numbers in Hagerstown are startling when you step back and look at them. People began to say, Oh, if it can happen to that family, it can happen to my family, Sterling says. 12 arrested in Frederick County drug bust | wusa9.com Others walk from nearby apartments. Please provide as much information as possible, Your name and address/information is optional. Although the city has seen little interest from developers for the empty lots along the trail, Tissue says several nearby buildings have been purchased and rehabbed. Prosecutors alleged they conspired to sell 100 grams or more of heroin, 500 grams or more of cocaine and . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Hes married with children and living his dream of being a full-time musician, touring his original folk-country songs across the U.S. HAGERSTOWN, Md. Earlier this spring, Keller, the city councilwoman who lost her best friend to an overdose, announced that the city would be joining several hundred municipalities, counties, and states in pursuing legal action against the nations largest drugmakers, alleging that they played a key role in launching the opioid epidemic. Its these fast-rolling interstates that carry the deadly opioids, including heroin and fetanyl, flooding Marylands western counties. The NFT is housed within the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)at the DEAs Hagerstown Office. TheCaroline County Drug Task Force is a multi-agencydrug task force, based inRidgely, Maryland; which functions under the direction and control of thedrug task forceadvisoryboard. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia Air National Guard;U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and U.S. attorney's offices in West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA and the Washington County Narcotics Task Force for their work in the investigation. Indirectly, they could have a hand at reversing the public health crises in the long run, civic leaders say. Jackie Devon Thompson, 41, of Frederick, Md. four counts of possession with intent to distribute spice, three counts of maintaining a common nuisance for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Anderson was charged with distribution of narcotics and possession of a controlled dangerous substance that was not marijuana, according to online court records. Some folksa waitress with an apron tied around her waist, a guyin construction gearare clearly stopping by on their way to a job. Brooke died while waiting for insurance approval for a $700 monthly shot of Vivitrol, which reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Hitachi Rail Factory "on track" in Hagerstown. The indictment also calls for the forfeiture of $400,000 in cash, a .22 caliber pistol, ammunition and six vehicles, all believed to be proceeds of the drug conspiracy. From March 20 to April 24, 2019, law enforcement surveilled activity at the suspected unit on a daily basis and observed Smith opening the storage unit to weigh and process suspected narcotics for distribution. Stephen McCormick, two counts of distribution of cocaine. Police seized more than 80 pounds of meth, 200 bags of fentanyl, more than two dozen guns and $135,000 in cash in a massive drug bust in Montgomery County. Its hope or heroin out here.. "This is the largest drug bust in my time as a prosecutor and as the elected state's attorney," Caroline County State's Attorney Joe Riley said.