Police Bust 12 in Northern Westchester Heroin Ring
Four area police departments joined forces to dismantle a ring of drug dealers that was allegedly selling heroin in multiple communities in northern Westchester.
Following a four-month investigation, officers from Westchester County, Peekskill, Yorktown and Buchanan arrested 12 people by going undercover to make purchases of heroin. Additional arrests are expected.
Westchester Public Safety Commissioner George Longworth said the probe was triggered by increased heroin sales in the area and more than 10 heroin-related overdose deaths in Westchester and Putnam this year.
“As soon as we started receiving intelligence that there was a large spike in heroin sales in the Cortlandt area, we formed a task force with Peekskill, Yorktown and Buchanan police to immediately combat this problem and prevent additional loss of life,” Longworth explained. “The arrest of these suspects will significantly impact the flow of heroin in northern Westchester.”
Peekskill Police Chief Eric Johansen was thankful to the task force in rounding up five city residents who were charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in third degree, both felonies.
“Narcotics offenders know no boundaries and those that engage in the sale and distribution of heroin and other illicit drugs will continue to be targeted in the City of Peekskill with all of our available resources,” Johansen said.
Those charged in the bust were Steven Santiago, 31, Vicki Mountain, 55, Walter Oglesby, 58, Jevon Ofield, 37, and Lonnie Scott, 42, all of Peekskill; Colin Rice, 24, Devin West, 25, and Rod Bromberg, 21, all of Yorktown; Wanda Eastman, 49, and Chris Eastman, 19, of Cortlandt; Dwayne Mountain, 26, of Verplanck; and Nicole McGuire, 30, of Stormville.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
