Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler, Sheriff Carl DuBois, Town of Wallkill Police Chief Robert Hertman, Village of Goshen Police Chief James C. Watt, Village of Washingtonville Police Chief Stephen Bogart, and Town of Warwick Police Chief Thomas McGovern, today announced that eleven defendants have been charged with trafficking heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and prescription medications throughout Orange County.

The enforcement action, entitled “Operation Spring Maintenance,” used undercover police officers to purchase heroin, cocaine, prescription medications, and marijuana throughout the county. The countywide enforcement action, one of many since District Attorney Hoovler took office, demonstrates the District Attorney’s and police agencies’ unyielding commitment to cleaning up our neighborhoods by targeting those individuals who seek to poison our society through trafficking narcotics.

All of the purchases of the drugs, and many of the arrests, were performed by the Orange County Drug Task Force. That task force, which was created in 2015, is run under the supervision of a Senior Criminal Investigator from the District Attorney’s Office and a Lieutenant from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. In addition to personnel from those agencies, the Drug Task Force is composed of police officers from other Orange County police departments. Currently the Village of Goshen Police Department, the Town of Wallkill Police Department, and the Village of Washingtonville Police Department have committed to assigning police officers to work on the task force. The Orange County Drug Task Force assists other agencies in conducting narcotics investigations, including undercover investigations, throughout the county. In this enforcement action, the Town of Warwick Police Department worked with the Drug Task Force in the investigation and apprehension of defendants accused of selling narcotics in the Town of Warwick.

Those charged in this enforcement action include:

Defendant	Location of Crime	Top Charge	Substance	Age	Residence
Dawn Auche	City of Newburgh	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree	Cocaine	24	Newburgh
Ursula Berry	Town of Wallkill	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree	Heroin	35	Middletown
Louis Castro	Town of Goshen	Criminal Sale of Marijuana in the 4th Degree	Marijuana	21	Goshen
Jesse George	Town of Woodbury	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree	Heroin	33	New Windsor
Aanan Gross	Town of Woodbury	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree	Oxycodone	30	Woodbury
John S. Poka	Town of Monroe	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 5th Degree	“MDMA” or “Ecstasy”	30	Monroe
Cheryl Powell	Town of Warwick	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 5th Degree	Morphine Pills	55	Warwick
Eugenio Santos	Town of Warwick	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 5th Degree	Hydrocodone	65	Warwick

Eugenio Santos and Cheryl Powell lived together in an adult housing complex in the Town of Warwick and are accused of selling illegal drugs to law enforcement on four separate occasions.

The following individuals have been charged with the following crimes, and have not been arrested. The District Attorney’s Office is asking for the public’s cooperation in obtaining information concerning their locations:

Christian Arce		Town of Monroe	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree	Cocaine	22	Monroe
Jerome Delpratt		City of Newburgh	Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree	Heroin	30	Newburgh
Marquis Powell	Town of Monroe		Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree	Cocaine	27	Harriman

Christian Arce has been charged in a felony complaint filed in the Town of Monroe Justice Court. Jerome Delpratt and Marquis Powell have been indicted by an Orange County Grand Jury and are wanted on indictment warrants.

The maximum sentence for the Class B Felony of Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the Third Degree is nine years in state prison.

The maximum sentence for the Class C Felony of Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the Fourth Degree is five and one-half years in state prison.

The maximum sentence for the Class D Felony of Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree is two and one-half years in state prison.

The maximum sentence for the Class A Misdemeanor of Criminal Sale of Marijuana in the Fourth Degree is one year in jail.

“The illegal drug epidemic continues to destroy lives in Orange County, and requires a constant and serious response,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “We intend to keep the pressure on drug sellers during the summer months, both through enforcement actions such as this, and through more intensive investigations into larger drug dealers, such as our recent enforcement action in Warwick with the New York State Police. The key to the success of these narcotics enforcement actions has been the collective efforts of the police agencies involved, and the local governments who generously agreed to allow their police officers to serve with the countywide Drug Task Force. Too many of our fellow Orange County residents have died this year because of the illicit drug trade, and the lives of countless others, both inside and outside of our cities, continue to be ravaged by addiction. Narcotics continues to be the number one driver of all types of crimes in the county, from white collar crime to homicides and robberies. My office remains committed to working with all our law enforcement partners to eradicate this scourge.”

“Offenders who sell drugs in or around an adult housing complex ruin the quality of life of the seniors residing there and put the entire community at risk,” said Chief Thomas McGovern of the Warwick Police Department. “We will continue our efforts in the fight against drugs flowing into the Town of Warwick.”

“The continual enforcement actions taking place in our communities in Orange County reinforce how serious the drug problem is,” said Sheriff Carl Dubois, “and that local municipalities need to work with the resources that the county offers through the Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney. Only by combining efforts will we raise awareness and work to reduce the critical infestation of drugs in our communities.”

“We are pleased with the work of the Task Force,” said Chief Robert Hertman of the Town of Wallkill Police Department, “and look forward to future success in our continued work with them.”

Chief Watt of the Village of Goshen Police Department and Chief Bogert of the Village of Washingtonville Police Department also support the efforts of the Orange County Drug Task Force and continue to provide manpower and support to these enforcement actions.

The cases are being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorneys Lorri Goldberg and Matthew Healy.

A 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.

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