DA Hoovler Announces Guilty Pleas
in Port Jervis Major Trafficker Case
Port Jervis Man Pled Guilty to Operating as a Major Trafficker as a Profiteer for Possessing with the Intent to Sell More than $75,000 worth of Heroin and Fentanyl
Defendant’s Father Pled Guilty to Tampering with Physical Evidence for Concealing Keys to a Drug Location Under the Direction of his Son
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced on Monday, July 11, 2022, that Richard McInturff, age 31, of Port Jervis, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Operating as a Major Drug Trafficker and Escape in the First Degree. His father, Larry McInturff, age 66, of Port Jervis, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Tampering with Physical Evidence. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Richard McInturff pled guilty, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend that he serve twelve years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision on the Operating as a Major Trafficker charge and two-to-four years in state prison on the Escape charge when he is sentenced on September 22, 2022. The District Attorney’s Office will further recommend that Larry McInturff serve a split sentence of six months in Orange County Jail and five years of probation.
On March 18, 2021, members of the Port Jervis City Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group executed a search warrant at Richard McInturff’s residence located in the City of Port Jervis. The search warrant, which was drafted with the aid of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, was part of an investigation into the illicit sales of the narcotic drug heroin in the City of Port Jervis. Detectives recovered 7,892 packets of suspected heroin and a scale of the type commonly used to weigh narcotics when they are being packaged for sale.
During the plea proceedings, Richard McInturff admitted that he, acting as a profiteer, knowingly possessed 7,892 glassine envelopes of a powdery substance containing fentanyl/heroin, with the intent to sell them, and that the value of the narcotics exceeded $75,000. Richard McInturff further admitted to escaping from custody while at the Port Jervis police department on March 19, 2021, after having been charged with the class A felony of Operating as a Major Trafficker.
In his plea, Larry McInturff admitted that on March 20, 2021, he was speaking with son, Richard McInturff, via phone while Richard McInturff was incarcerated at Orange County Jail. At his son’s direction, Larry McInturff concealed a keyring with keys to an apartment that belonged to Richard McInturff, while knowing it would be used as evidence in the trial against his son.
“The opioid epidemic is tragic and while those who are addicted to drugs deserve our compassion and assistance, profiteers such as this defendant deserve stern and just punishment,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “I thank the City of Port Jervis Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group, the Sussex County New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office and Narcotic Task Force, and the New Jersey State Police for their work on this investigation. The significant seizure of narcotics, one of the largest in the history of Port Jervis, serves as a reminder of the scope of the efforts to rid our streets of these poisons.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexis Gregory and Senior Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Healy and Christopher Kelly.
This criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.