Drug suspects rounded up

BY ROBERT L. BAKER

An investigation over the past year has led to the arrest Tuesday morning of more than 20 persons for drug transactions that occurred in Wyoming County over the past year.

District Attorney Jeff Mitchell said two-thirds of the cases involved heroin and the rest involved pills, methamphetamine and cocaine.

Trooper Marty Connors said some cases also involved bath salts, and he called the suspects “street-level dealers- this is what they do for a living.”

“You’re talking about a lot of drugs taken off the street, not to mention the collateral damage they do,” Connors said.

The state police conducted the roundup, organizing at the Triton Hose Company fire hall in Tunkhannock around 7 a.m. and then branching out in teams with the aid of the U.S. Marshal’s service, state police from Troop P and Troop R, the Tunkhannock Twp. police department and the Wyoming County DA’s office.
Those for whom warrants were served not just in Wyoming County, but also in Bradford (3), Luzerne (2), Sullivan (2) and Susquehanna (2) included: Valerio Amato, 35; Patrick Bacorn, 31; Christina Birchard, 30; Tonya Birchard, 24; Jeremy Broody, 34; Matthew Canfield, 22; Christopher Everetts, 30; Rosie Goble, 19; Joshua Heiser, 23; Timothy Husted, 24; Dustin Harvey, 27; Duston Johnson, 27; Jesse Long, 24; Robert Manker, 36; Ryan McClain, 27; Ryan, McElhoes, 23; Travis Newell, 24; Richard Schultz, 28; Jerome Slick, 25; Michael Smith, 34; Christopher Travers, 30; Jenna Vanderpool, 26; and Adam Vosburg, 26.
Everetts, Johnson, Long, Manker and Smith had not been apprehended as of press time.

Of the round up, Mitchell said, “These investigations have been ongoing for over a year. I commend the Pennsylvania State Police and Wyoming County Detective David Ide for their hard work and dedication.”

Although not all police criminal complaints were reviewed, the ones seen also had $25,000 bail attached to them, and some were remanded to the Wyoming County Correctional Facility.

Mitchell said that while law enforcement and criminal investigations are one component in battling the use of illegal drugs, so is treatment and rehabilitation.

“It is my hope that those arrested will sincerely seek treatment and help to end the cycle of addiction that afflicts our community,” he said.