Is Hagerstown eating its way to dementia? Baltimore, Md. A Hagerstown appliance store was allegedly used as a hub for the illegal activities. Across the country, rural addiction rates have surpassed those in urban areas, yet there is still not a single inpatient drug treatment facility in Washington County. I was on the other side, and I get it, and people have every right to make that point.. Others arrive in pajamas and sweatpants, barely awake, clutching telltale lockboxes for take-home doses. Four people were apprehended, three in relation to the possession of controlled substances, and one on an outstanding warrant. The Washington County Narcotics Task Force performed the drug raid at a Hagerstown apartment after first obtaining a warrant based on a narcotics investigation of that address. The substance abuse treatment center sits across the street from an abandoned hospital parking garage (the hospital moved out of downtown like nearly everything else), and a seemingly endless stream of addicts in late-model cars, minivans, and pickup trucks come and go until the pharmacy closes at noon. Instead, you go get high and forget about it for a while., Forty-year-old Brooks Zombro, who has lived in Hagerstown his whole life, puts it another way: Hagerstown is a manufacturing town, then we lost all those factory jobs our parents and grandparents had, [and] it has become a playground for big box retail that has all but eliminated and destroyed our downtowns small business district. Thirty-two-year-old City Councilwoman Emily Keller, a go-getter single mom and insurance agent, lost her oldest friend to an overdose and ran for office specifically to lead the fight against the opioid epidemic. The drug task force is comprised of sworn law enforcement officers and contributionsfrom theCaroline County Sheriff's Department, Maryland State Police, Maryland Natural Resources Police, Caroline County States Attorney's Office, and the Denton Police Department. Additionally, in less than one month, Smith and Tyler contacted each other 714 times by cell phone. (Currently affiliated with the Nationals, the Suns draw a South Atlantic league-low 896 fans per game; Frederick led the Carolina League in attendance from 2012-2016, attracting nearly 5,000 fans a game.). four counts of possession with intent to distribute spice, three counts of maintaining a common nuisance for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Doctor Explains. Patrica Diaz,four counts of possession with intent to distribute spice, three counts of maintaining a common nuisance for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. As the former Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts for Washington County Public Schools, Rob Hovermale was involved in conversations as early as 2000 about opening a public arts high school in Hagerstowntalks that were largely dismissed at the time. A local taxi company sporadically drops people off. Opioids may be the deadliest catastrophe to hit Hagerstown, but the current crisis follows a long string of blows to a city that never made the transition from a mechanical to a hi-tech economy. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Joan Mathias, who are prosecuting the case. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. The search warrants were a result of a multi- state . This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. This place is a blessing. More than 1,000 pounds of prescription medicine is collected in the first two hours of the event, which is held in an empty parking lot outside the county health offices. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. NEWARK, NJTwo members of an alleged drug trafficking ring based . This was a normal kid, the daughter of a respected ex-city cop. U.S. Attorney's Office December 21, 2012. Kerns said Anderson was part of an investigation that occurred prior to the search warrant being executed. The task force was assisted by the Washington County Special Response Team and the Hagerstown regional office of the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to an email from Kerns. The Washington Narcotics Task Force has made 11 arrests in connection to a local drug trafficking organization investigation. In addition to Mota, the news release listed those indicted in connection with the alleged operation as: All but 11 of the defendants had been arrested as of Wednesday. Police seized more than 80 pounds of meth, 200 bags of fentanyl, more than two dozen guns and $135,000 in cash in a massive drug bust in Montgomery County. Hagerstown built automobiles, bottled Coca-Cola, made shoes, clothing, furniture, and Breyers ice cream, and was the worlds largest manufacturer of pipe organs. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Some of them were done outside, some were done in the apartments, numerous kids were in the area playing, numerous people out and about, said Sgt. High 56F. The homes that were searched were in Preston, Hurlock, Federalsburg, Lanham and Crofton. It is a cruel twist that Hagerstown, on the receiving end of so much heroin from Baltimore, has such a shortage of addiction specialists that the Wells House, one of the largest outpatient clinics here, utilizes Baltimore doctors via telemedicine to treat its clients. Founded in 1986, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force (NFT) is comprised of members from the Hagerstown Department of Police and the Washington County Sheriffs Office. Those kind of manufacturing jobs generally pulled up stakes for cheaper labor in the South or overseas, a trend that has continued. Robison. Butler is being held at the Caroline County Detention Center without bond. For the past 44 years, since Valley Mall was built on the outskirts of town, shuttering the department stores, retail shops, restaurants, theaters, and five and dimes, there have been hopes of reviving Hagerstowns once-thriving city center. Even as other Rust Belt towns declinelosing union jobs, community, status, and a general hope for a brighter futurethe numbers in Hagerstown are startling when you step back and look at them. He couldnt hold down a job for more than a month or two, he says, and bounced around from one employer to the next: cleaning bathrooms, painting houses, waiting tables, making pizza. Two additional private methadone treatment centers have since opened in the area, not to mention the Washington County Health Departments outpatient addiction program, which treated more than 11,000 patients between 2013 and its closing this spring due to state budget cuts. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Wares residence. The 30-count indictment charges the residents of Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Dominican Republic with trafficking large amounts of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride from Hagerstown to locations in Berkeley County, West Virginia, from August 2020 to June 2021. Baltimore, Maryland - Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.. The loot was wrapped in bundles. If you are in immediate danger dial 911. Perhaps as many as three-quarters of those in local methadone programs, according to recovering addicts interviewed for this story, still get high, using coke, crack, ecstasy, Spice, or benzos like Xanax, which are particularly dangerous in combination with methadone. With the highways and economic factors, its all a perfect storm.. I legitimately thought about that for five or six hours that day. Andre Luther Woolford, 33, of Hurlock, Maryland. "If they just had a pipefine . Weve been struggling for decades and hopefully this will get the ball rolling, she says. y any definition, the epidemic in this part of Maryland, a state with one of the top five death rates from opioids in the country, is among the worst anywhere. s the former managing editor of Hagerstowns daily newspaper,The Herald-Mail, Dave Elliott witnessed firsthand the citys downward spiral. Read More. Simmers, an outgoing, thick-shouldered 53-year-old, joined the military out of high school in the early 1980s with the intention of going into law enforcement. The Caroline County Drug Task Force started the investigation by looking into the operation of a drug trafficking organization believed to be distributing large amount of cocaine, opioids, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines in Caroline and Dorchester counties and parts of Delaware. Hagerstown, Md. Three Hagerstown residents face drug charges after suspected heroin and suspected methamphetamine with a street value of approximately $50,000 was seized along with $9,000 in cash and several. DEA agents and partner agencies in Western Maryland are seeing a resurgence of one-pot meth labs in the area -- noting more incidents of meth labs in the area this year than the last 5 years combined. Maybe 10-15 percent dont give you any problem and are trying to do the right thing, says Lee Green, an addictions counselor who is also an active member of a 12-step program. HAGERSTOWN, MD Five Hagerstown residents have been arrested after a major drug and weapons bust February 9th announced by The Washington County Sheriff's Office and its law enforcement partners this week. Ive been a right-wing Republican all my life, Simmers says. Meanwhile, health care, housing, and education costs have skyrocketed over the ensuing decades, but wages, adjusted for inflation, have remained essentially flat in Hagerstown, growing just 5 percent in total over that 25-year span. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $410,016 in cash, six vehicles and a .22-caliber revolver and ammunition. This has been very beneficial since drug violators frequently move through the tri-state area. Maybe longer. In recent decades, theyve swapped roles. Home to one-fourth of the countys population, Hagerstown accounts for the majority of those seeking treatment, as well as the majority of overdose fatalities, which included 21 city residents in the first four-and-a-half months of this yeara pace that would, if it continues, triple last years total. Youll see people dressed up nice to see a play or film, and you have addicts walking around, says Matthew Hast, a sculptor who lives at Engine Room. The state Attorney General's Office announced that 13 people, including a dietary sergeant at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Anne Arundel County, were indicted on charges they. On Monday, task force agents said they found Oliver with a significant amount of heroin. Simms is being held at the Caroline County Detention Center without bond. HAGERSTOWN, Md. The office is currently staffed by personnel to include officers from the Hagerstown City Police Department, Deputies from the Washington County Sheriffs Department, an Intel Analyst, a Gang Analyst, two prosecutors from the State Attorneys Office, and two support staff. A dog tied up behind Byers Market on North Burhans Boulevard. We have a long way to go, but the school has brought life downtown, Hovermale says. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. A drug bust by Hagerstown (MD) Police Department early this morning resulted in the confiscation of crack cocaine and nearly $4,000 in cash. Stephen McCormick, two counts of distribution of cocaine. (In 2007, three Purdue executives pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the misbranding of OxyContin and paid $34.5 million in fines, while the company agreed to pay $600 million to resolve a Department of Justice investigation.) To me, the urban improvement project is huge. They dont stand a chance., The societal ripple effect of the opioid epidemic cant be overstated, says Piercy, who doesnt have to look any farther than outside his downtown Potomac Street office window to witness people nodding and passing out. Low 33F. Baltimore, Maryland Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. "They represent lives saved from overdose deaths and the continuing nightmare of drug addiction and the never-ending spinoffs of associated crimes from robberies, retail thefts, shootings and others that tear at the very fabric of our great and prosperous community," he said. The Frederick Police Department is seeking assistance locating a 17-year-old male, who has been missing since June. A methadone clinic was not a part of that vision. Methadone, he argues, is a drug just like heroin. He found an opiate specialist doctor and took Suboxone for about a year, then safely weaned off. They buy the stuff to cut it, the right color dye, and press in a number or an initial, and it looks like the real thingPercocet or whatever.. Investigators have seized 8.6 kilograms of cocaine, 1.02 kilograms of heroin and 12 ounces of cocaine base. George Alfred Butler, 56, of Federalsburg, Maryland. Information for Victims of 1st Million Dollars, LLC. The alleged traffickers distributed drugs in Caroline and Dorchester counties, as well as parts of Delaware, according to police, who said investigators from multiple agencies developed enough. Michelle Lynn Spain, 48, of Preston, Maryland, James Eugene Simms, 36, of Great Mills, Maryland. Along with a prescription for the anti-seizure medication Topamax, his family doctor prescribed him Vicodin to be taken after each episode.
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