Law enforcement authorities were out in full force throughout Northumberland County Tuesday charging approximately 100 defendants with drug-related offenses in the largest raid ever conducted by the Northumberland-Montour Drug Task Force.
Most of the suspects were taken into custody at their homes, while others were arrested at their places of employment, businesses or on the street. Some of the people charged are already in county prison on unrelated offenses.
The defendants, some of whom are repeat offenders, live throughout the county and neighboring counties. They range in age from 17 to 60, with the majority being young men and women.
The drugs involved in the bust include heroin, cocaine, oxycontin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, suboxone, zanax, ecstasy, clonazepam, percocet, bath salts, subutex, valium and vicodin.
The drug bust began at about 7 a.m. as command centers were established at the gymnasium inside the Ralpho Township Municipal Building and the former Sunbury Middle School at 115 Fairmount Ave.
Montour County Sheriff Ray Gerringer, Mount Carmel Patrolman Matthew Dillman and Sgt. Todd Owens, and Shamokin Cpl. Bryan Primerano served as command post supervisors in Elysburg, while Sunbury patrolmen Travis Bremigen and Bradley Slack held the same positions at the Sunbury command center.
Municipal and state police, sheriff deputies, Northumberland County adult and juvenile
probation officers and state constables Larry Rompallo and Glenn Masser from the eastern end of the county, which includes the Shamokin and Mount Carmel area, processed defendants at the command center in Elysburg before transporting them for arraignments at the offices of Magisterial District Judges John Gembic III of Shamokin and Hugh Jones of Mount Carmel.
Defendants from the Sunbury and Milton areas were processed at the Sunbury command post and later arraigned at the offices of Senior Magisterial District Judge Richard Cashman of Sunbury and Magisterial District Judge Robert Bolton of Milton.
Most of the defendants were committed to Northumberland County Prison in Sunbury after failing to post bail and were ordered to appear for preliminary hearings later this month.
During arraignment proceedings Tuesday afternoon at Gembic's office, various defendants claimed to be innocent, while others cracked jokes, complained about their green and orange prison outfits, and vowed revenge against a confidential informant allegedly used in the investigation.
Comments included: "This is crazy. I didn't do nothing. I didn't sell (expletive). I don't know why I'm here. I'm disappointed my buddies aren't here. Can I have my paperwork? This is like a circus. I need to pee."
Approximately 25 suspects were charged by Shamokin and Coal Township police. An estimated 30 defendants were charged by Mount Carmel, Mount Carmel Township, Kulpmont and Ralpho Township officers. Sixty-five defendants were charged by Sunbury, Point Township and Milton police.
Arraignments were conducted until approximately 5 p.m. and additional charges are pending.
Possession, delivery
The charges, which relate to incidents that occurred within the past year, include possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, delivery of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
Delivery and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance are felonies, which carry up to 15 years incarceration. The possession offenses are misdemeanors.
An estimated 50 task force agents were involved in serving arrest warrants throughout the county. In addition to the abovementioned departments, also assisting in the raid were Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini, Montour County District Attorney Robert Buehner, state police from the Stonington and Milton stations, Northumberland, Mahoning Township and Danville police, Constable Butch Showers, state probation and parole agents, agents from the state Attorney General's Region IV Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, personnel from the Northumberland County EMA and 911 offices, and drug dogs Rocky and Brecken from Sunbury Police Department and Northumberland County Adult Probation Department, respectively.
Tactical emergency medical service units from Americus Ambulance in Sunbury and Elysburg Ambulance were on standby during the raid.