Police Department City of Keene, New Hampshire. 6a/'f. Concerns Over Growing Drug Problem in Keene

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1 Police Department City of Keene, New Hampshire Date: To: Through: From: Subject: July 20, 2015 Municipal Sery~ c 7 Facilities and Infrastructure Committee ( L - \..._... John Maclean,.~ 1ty Manager 6a/'f. Brian Costa, Police Chief Concerns Over Growing Drug Problem in Keene Recommendation: Informational only. Background: In June of 2014 Councilor Greenwald drafted a letter to City Council asking for discussion among community leaders to evaluate if our City was experiencing a heroin use and dealing epidemic. That letter of concern was quickly followed by a letter from Mr. Wayne Woolridge, Superintendent of Schools for SAU 29, in which the Superintendent welcomed dialogue on the topic and stated there was a growing concern about the well-being of our City's youth. This discussion took place at a Municipal Services, Facilities and Infrastructure Committee (MFSI) meeting that was held in early July Discussion at that meeting included many community leaders on the issue, and in reviewing the notes there was general agreement on two issues: First, that our community was experiencing an increase of heroin use which paralleled the issue at both the state and national levels; and second, that a three pronged approach to confronting the issue was determined to be the best course of action. Those three prongs included strong prevention efforts, enforcement of local, state, and federal drug laws, and a focus on addiction treatment and recovery services. While the Police Department supports the efforts of various community agencies and entities with respect to prevention and treatment modules in many ways, its primary focus is concerned with the enforcement towards decreasing the impact this problem has on our community. In light of that we are offering a case study of an investigation into the illegal use and distribution of heroin in our community. This case study was conducted by investigators of our Department's Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

2 Keene Police Department A Case Study: Ongoing Drug Investigations Since 2013, the Keene Police and Fire Departments have responded to 199 service calls involving drug overdoses during which 109 individuals were administered Narcan and survived. Sadly, 17 of these calls resulted in drugrelated deaths. Studies and arrest patterns suggest that a high percentage of individuals arrested for robbery and property crimes such as burglary, theft and fraud, are committed by subjects who have a drug dependency, specifically opiates, such as Oxycodone and heroin. In response to this growing epidemic, the Keene Police Department has continued to work closely with the New Hampshire Attorney General's Drug Task Force as well as with the New Hampshire State Police, local police agencies, and federal law enforcement agencies which include the United States Attorney's Office, FBI, DEA and Homeland Security. Coordinating with other agencies benefits the city of Keene by the additional manpower and investigative resources. The following cases, some which have been publicly reported through individual press releases are being shared because they are targets of a prolonged multiagency investigation which since 2013, has targeted large scale heroin traffickers in and around the Keene area and are highly illustrative examples of the success that is often borne from multiple agencies participating in an investigation. In October 2013, the United States Attorney's Office, New Hampshire Attorney General's Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations, working in conjunction with the Keene Police Department, New Hampshire State Police, Salem Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police began investigating heroin distribution in the greater Keene, New Hampshire area, along with the sources of supply for those individuals. As a result of this investigation, law enforcement has arrested fourteen individuals involved in a conspiracy to traffic multi-kilograms of heroin from Lawrence, Massachusetts to the greater Keene, New Hampshire area. The initial investigation resulted in the arrest of the following individuals:

3 Ross M. Gould 28YOA Richmond, NH Ross Gould of Richmond, New Hampshire is charged federally with unlawful possession with intent to distribute heroin. Gould was arrested on March 16th, 2015 following the execution of a search warrant at his Richmond, NH residence, where heroin, prescription pills, marijuana, approximately $11,000 cash, and fourteen firearms were seized. Gould admitted to concealing additional heroin at another location in Richmond, where investigators located approximately 1.5 kilograms (1,500 grams) of heroin, 14 ounces of cocaine, and approximately 90 Oxycodone tablets. Gould is currently being held at the Merrimack County House of Corrections pending federal prosecution. Jamie Mark Hilow 28YOA Winchester, NH Jamie Hilow of Winchester, NH was arrested March gth, 2015 and charged federally with unlawful distribution of heroin. Hilow was arrested on a warrant after being identified as a drug courier for Gould's drug trafficking organization.

4 Hilow is currently being held at the Cheshire County House of Corrections pending federal prosecution. Jaclyn NMI Hilow 28YOA Winchester, NH Jaclyn Hilow, wife of Jamie Hilow, of Winchester, NH was arrested March gth, 2015 and charged federally with unlawful distribution of heroin. Hilow was arrested on a warrant after being identified as a drug courier for Gould's drug trafficking organization. HILOW is currently being held at the Cheshire County House of Corrections pending federal prosecution. Jason Powell Daigle 38YOA Richmond, NH Jason Daigle of Richmond, New Hampshire was arrested on March loth, 2015 and charged federally with unlawful distribution of heroin. Daigle was arrested on a warrant after being identified as a drug courier for Gould's drug trafficking organization. Daigle is currently being held at the Cheshire County House of Corrections pending federal prosecution.

5 Desmond Davis 30YOA Harrisville, NH Desmond Davis of Harrisville, New Hampshire has been charged in State court on three counts of sale of a controlled drug. Davis was arrested after being identified as a drug courier for Gould's drug trafficking organization. Davis has been released on bail and is currently on electronic monitoring. Brandon Michael Rivers Keene, NH Brandon M. Rivers of Keene, New Hampshire was arrested on March 18th, 2015 and charged federally with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute heroin. Rivers was arrested on a warrant after conspiring with Daigle to sell heroin to an individual cooperating with the NH AG Drug Task Force. Rivers has been released on bail and pending federal prosecution.

6 Sean P. Campbeii30YOA Walpole, NH Sean P Campbell of Walpole, NH was arrested on March, 2015 and has been charged in State court with one count of sale of a controlled drug, heroin. Campbell was identified as a re-distributor for Gould's organization. Campbell has been release on bail. Following this initial investigation, law enforcement identified a major source of supply of heroin and cocaine used by Gould and other Keene-area drug distributors. As a result, the following were arrested in March 2015: Jonathan Cruz-Marte 32YOA (No photo available) Jonathan Cruz-Marte of Lawrence, Massachusetts is charged federally with unlawful possession with intent to distribute heroin. During his March 1ih, 2015 arrest at the Rockingham Mall in Salem, New Hampshire, Cruz-Marte was in possession of two kilograms of heroin. Cruz-Marte is currently being held at the Strafford County House of Corrections pending federal prosecution. Felix Portes 56YOA (No photo available) Felix Portes of Lawrence, Massachusetts is charged federally with unlawful possession with intent to distribute heroin, related to Cruz-Marte's criminal conduct. Portes is being held at the Strafford County House of Corrections pending federal charges.

7 Pedro Pena 37YOA (No photo available) Pedro Pena of Lawrence, Massachusetts was arrested on March 13th, 2015 and is charged federally with unlawful distribution of heroin after he sold approximately 200 grams of heroin to an individual cooperating with the NH Drug Task Force. Pena is currently being held at the Strafford County House of Corrections pending federal prosecution. As part of the continuing investigation, in March, 2015 law enforcement identified another significant source of supply of heroin and cocaine operating in the Keene area, which resulted in the following arrests of drug distributors: Ryan Thomas Williams 28YOA Marlborough, NH (2007 photo) On April 29th, 2015, Williams of Marlborough, NH was arrested during a motor vehicle stop in Peterborough, New Hampshire while he was trafficking a half kilogram of heroin between Lawrence, Massachusetts and Keene, New Hampshire. Williams is currently out on bail for state drug charges, and has an arraignment scheduled in the Jaffrey-Peterborough District Court for July 6, Investigators were subsequently able to identify William's drug source in Lawrence, Massachusetts and learned that his suppliers were involved with the same distribution network which involved Cruz-Marte and Portes. In May 2015, law enforcement arrested the following two subjects:

8 Martin Reynaldo Cruz-Gonzalez 33YOA Martin Reynaldo Cruz- Gonzalez of Lawrence, Massachusetts who is facing state charges in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with trafficking heroin (one kilogram). Cruz-Gonzalez is currently being held in lieu of bail at the Essex County Jail. Jose Cabrera 56YOA Jose Cabrera of Lawrence, Massachusetts, who is facing state charges in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with trafficking heroin (one ki logram). Cabrera is currently being held in lieu of bail at the Essex County Jail. Following the above cited investigations, in June, 2015 law enforcement identified another source of heroin and cocaine, for the Keene area, which resulted in the following arrest for drug distribution:

9 Tabitha L. Reason 31 YOA Keene, NH {2008 photo) Tabitha Reason of Keene, New Hampshire was arrested on June 23, 2015 in Salem (NH) and has been charged in State court with possession with intent to distribute after having been found in possession of between grams of heroin. Reason is currently being held in the Rockingham County House of Corrections. With these fourteen (14) arrests, investigators believe they were able to dismantle a major heroin and cocaine distribution network which had been operating for a number of years in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in addition to dismantling two Keene-based drug distribution cells. In total, law enforcement seized over 5.5 kilograms of heroin, 14 ounces of cocaine, approximately 90 Oxycodone tablets, approximately $11,000 cash, and fourteen firearms. Recently, our region's Homeland Security Director, Mike Posanka, traveled to Keene to recognize the lead investigator in this case: our Department's resource that is assigned to the State of New Hampshire Attorney General's Drug Task Force.