![Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, picked up in a 2016 New York City drug bust. "Basically, [fentanyl] is so cheap to produce and it's so powerful, that drug dealers began realizing it was a way to increase their profits," <em>Fentanyl, Inc. </em>author Ben Westhoff says. But miscalculations of the amount used can be deadly.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/af09f62/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2726x1533+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2019%2F09%2F03%2Fgettyimages-609942630_wide-583d689f7ba210217b87149c21b55fc3dff596eb.jpg)
Area law enforcement agencies arrested more than a dozen more people Thursday in an ongoing drug trafficking probe in the Kingston and Edwardsville areas, authorities said Friday.
That brings the number of people charged in connection with the six-month-long investigation to more than 30, according to a news release from Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and Kingston Police Chief Richard Kotchik. Most are residents of the Kingston and Edwardsville areas.
Officers seized three guns, large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, ecstasy, prescription medication, marijuana and an unspecified amount of U.S. currency, the release said.
The operation was led by Kingston Police, Edwardsville Police, the District Attorney’s Office, and the state Attorney General's Office.
Police focused mainly on the Eagle Ridge and Hilltop apartment complexes in response to numerous drug trafficking complaints received over a period of months, Sanguedolce and Kotchik said.
Undercover agents and officers conducted 139 controlled drug purchases and obtained 14 search warrants. The multi-agency operation included federal participation, too.
Sanguedolce thanked state Attorney General Michelle Henry for making the operation possible.
“The extension of this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case has made Kingston, Edwardsville and the surrounding communities safer places and has provided our local departments and our office with the resources needed to take over thirty drug dealers off our streets,” he said.
Latest arrests
The suspects' names, charges and bail set by Magisterial District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo are:
- Katreena Shepard, delivery of fentanyl, $150,000 straight bail.
- Joshua Smith, delivery of marijuana, 10% of $25,000 bail required.
- Stacy Bednar, delivery of methadone, 10% of $25,000 bail required.
- Santiago Alvarez-Ortiz, three counts of delivery of cocaine, delivery of suboxone and two counts of delivery of fentanyl, $250,000 straight bail.
- Weldon Robinson, delivery of fentanyl, unsecured bail.
- Christopher Peters, delivery of methamphetamine, $75,000 straight bail.
- Cheryl Rivers, delivery of suboxone, 10% of $25,000 bail required.
- Jacqueline Siegenthal, six counts of delivery of methamphetamine, $150,000 straight bail.
- Onje Crowder, two counts of delivery of fentanyl, $250,000 straight bail.
- Naasir Morrison, two counts of delivery of fentanyl, $250,000 straight bail.
- Sherrilee Stout (Conahan), two counts of delivery of methamphetamine, $100,000 straight bail.
- Thomas Stoss, delivery of methamphetamine, $50,000 straight bail.
- Gina Krantz, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, $75,000 straight bail.
- Bradley Alan Fradkin, delivery of suboxone, criminal use of a communication facility, $25,000 straight bail.
- Omar Robinson, delivery of fentanyl and crack cocaine, criminal use of a communication facility, $250,000 straight.
- Marlena Fiore, delivery of methamphetamine and criminal use of a communication facility, bail $75,000 straight.
Previous arrests
Police said these individuals were arrested during the execution of search warrants at the Eagle Ridge Apartments and Hilltop Apartments during earlier phases of the investigation. They are being held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre:
- Theodis Brown, 52, delivery of crack cocaine, criminal use of a communication facility, possession with the intent to deliver crack cocaine, tampering with evidence, held for failure to post $1 million cash bail.
- Raceedie Griffiths, 30, delivery of fentanyl, criminal use of a communication facility, possession with the intent to deliver crack cocaine, tampering with evidence, deemed too dangerous for bail.
- Christopher Belcher, 22, delivery of crack cocaine, criminal use of a communication facility, held for failure to post $1 million cash bail.
- Najm Copper, 34, delivery of fentanyl, criminal use of a communication facility, possession with the intent to deliver suboxone, possession with the intent to deliver fentanyl, held for failure to post $1 million cash bail.
- Omar Kelly, 25, delivery of fentanyl, criminal use of a communication facility, possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, deemed too dangerous for bail.
- Shakeal Robinson Evans, 35, delivery of crack cocaine, criminal use of a communication facility, possession with the intent to deliver crack cocaine, held for failure to post $1 million cash bail.
- Wendell K. Freeman, Jr., 30, possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, marijuana — six counts (felony), bail denied (currently on state parole).
- Armand K. Hobson, 27, possession with the intent to deliver fentanyl, marijuana, synthetic marijuana — three counts, deemed too dangerous for bail.
- Akilees Hobson, 26, possession with the intent to deliver fentanyl, crack cocaine, synthetic marijuana — three counts, bail denied (currently on federal parole).
Suspects sought
Police said the following are wanted on active felony arrest warrants:
- Krystal Stash, 36, Edwardsville
- Howard Wolk, 64, Kingston
- Deborah Briggs, 57, Edwardsville
- Shakeem Stroman, 43, Edwardsville
- Justin Carlo, 23, Wilkes-Barre
- Thomas Hannick, 32, Olyphant
- Angel De Jesus, 25, Forty-Fort
Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to contact Kingston Police at 570-288-3674.
