Defendant Arrested for Allegedly Possessing Over One Ounce of Crack Cocaine and Narcotics Packaging Materials

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and City of Port Jervis Police Chief William Worden announced that Tyree Brown, 27, of Port Jervis, was arrested and charged with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony.  Brown was arraigned and released on his own recognizance, as the charges he faces are not eligible for bail.

In 2019, “bail reform” legislation was enacted that severely limits the courts’ ability to set bail for offenses involving narcotics possession or sale. In narcotics sweeps in Orange County prior to the legislation, some bail was set by the court for almost all defendants charged with selling narcotics.

As alleged in charging documents filed in court, on March 24, 2023 at approximately 2:10pm, police officers from the City of Port Jervis Police Department, the Special Operations Group of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the Orange County Drug Task Force executed a judicially authorized “no-knock” search warrant at a residence in the City of Port Jervis.  Inside was Brown as well as twenty-nine (29) grams of crack cocaine, drug packing materials and scales typically used in narcotics trafficking.  The warrant was the result of a months-long investigation into the sale of narcotics in and around the City of Port Jervis.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of Port Jervis Police Department, the Special Operations Group of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the Orange County Drug Task Force for their investigation and the arrest of Brown. 

“It takes the coordinated efforts of law enforcement to root out narcotics trafficking in our community,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “Dangerous drugs hurt individuals, hurt families and in turn hurt communities.  My Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who seek to profit by peddling their deadly products in our County.  I am proud of the cooperative work by the police in this case and other cases like it.”

“We continue in our unwavering commitment to rid our community of dangerous drugs by focusing our enforcement efforts on those who bring these drugs into our city and profit from their sale to a vulnerable, drug-addicted population” said City of Port Jervis Police Chief William Worden. “The drug trade negatively impacts not only the drug addicted themselves, but their families, friends, co-workers, and community at large.Our partnership with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office allows us to best target these drivers of crime by conducting collaborative, well-coordinated investigations.”

A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police 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.