Eighteen people have been indicted by a St. Lawrence County grand jury for conspiring to distribute marijuana and cocaine.
The investigation, which included wiretaps and other surveillance, led to the seizure of about 250 pounds of marijuana and almost 3/4 pound of cocaine with a total value of over a half million dollars.
The seized drugs were displayed during a press conference Thursday afternoon in Watertown following a roundup of the suspects.
"Today's a great day for the good citizens of this region because we've taken many of those people off the streets, those people that are bringing those drugs to our region and to our community," said Massena Police Chief Tim Currier.
About $200,000 in cash was also seized during the investigation.
The arrests are the result of two investigations, said Robin Baker, Executive Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice.
The marijuana ring was centered in Waddington, with pot smuggled across the St. Regis Reservation distributed in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties and the Albany area, Baker said.
The cocaine ring was allegedly centered in Potsdam. The defendants received cocaine from Utica and distributed it in St. Lawrence County, authorities said.
Earlier in that investigation, five members of an alleged cocaine distribution network were arrested in Watertown.
Close to twenty law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation on the local, state and federal levels.
The defendants in the marijuana conspiracy:
- Raun Mitchell, 27, Hogansburg
- Margaret Ann Jacobs, 42, Akwesasne
- Matthew Dillon, 28, Akwesasne
- Mitchell David, 18, Akwesasne
- Scott Jerome, 33, Waddington
- Jason Ashley, 29, Great Bend
- Donna Jarvis, 47, Massena
- Ashley Alguire, 24, Waddington
- Wesley Walters, 28, Mannsville
- Robert Brigham, 25, Watertown
- Matthew Decaprio, 26, Carthage
- Scott Thayer, 39, Watertown
- Jeremy Kearns, 21, Massena
- Doug Monroe, 23, Massena
- Ryan Gagner, 26, Norfolk
Those indicted for cocaine conspiracy:
Raymond Whalen, address unknown
Clayton Everhart, 29, Norfolk and Winthrop
Stacy Narrow, 26, Brasher Falls
Authorities emphasized the legwork and cooperation among law enforcement agencies that made the investigation a success.
"Just to get an investigation to a point where there is wiretapping takes tremendous amount of advance investigation, legwork and surveillance and so on," Baker said. "And then, wiretapping, you're monitoring phones, and they have to be monitored continuously."
