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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. Economists studying national trends say people should simply vacate towns like Hagerstownand seek work elsewhere. 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. When a methadone clinic was first proposed at this site, two blocks from Hagerstowns main street, in the spring of 2001, it was met with vehement opposition. Is Hagerstown eating its way to dementia? In the first decades after World War II, during the early rumblings of the automobile age, Hagerstown continued to thrive, becoming a trucking hub as well a rail hub. Grant briefly escaped, fleeing while handcuffed, and was captured a short distance away, Kerns said. Theyll deliver. The indictment also lists items requested for forfeiture that include more than $400,000 in cash, a .22 caliber pistol, ammunition, and six vehicles, all believed to be proceeds from the drug trafficking conspiracy. MARTINSBURG Allegedly using Top 3 Resources, an appliance store in Hagerstown, Maryland, as a front for having and selling controlled substances, 15 Eastern Panhandle residents were among those charged in an expansive drug-trafficking operation. The following people were indicted during the investigation: Justin Aaron Spain, 41, of Lanham, Maryland. In 2016 (the most recent year available), an average of 113 prescriptions for opioids were written for every 100 Washington County residentsnearly twice the national average. I wanted to be in narcotics. The team lost its Orioles affiliation in the 1980s when the Os said goodbye to Hagerstown and hello to nearby Frederick. Andrew Clopper, one count of distribution of heroin. Local Hagerstown, MD. Smith accessed the storage unit on 39 separate occasions and obtained at least 250 grams of narcotics during his visits. WV State Police cite legal exemptions to deny records involving In some cases, the defendants face penalties of five to 40 years in prison, 20 years in prison and 10 years to life, Bernard said. Police seized drugs, cash and weapons from the residence, Kerns said. "Drug traffickers don't work nine-to-five hours, so the people investigating this case have to work 24-seven, and this team worked for approximately a year investigating this case," he said. The bust began in the late afternoon Monday as Grant was contacted to do a deal involving an informant, and was taken into custody inside the Sheetz on Potomac Avenue, Kerns said. Corey Diehl, two counts of distribution of heroin. But after 50 years of decline, Elliott and others say downtown is finally showing signs of recovery, even if it is a long road ahead. Brooke died while waiting for insurance approval for a $700 monthly shot of Vivitrol, which reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms. , Rep. Hoyer on legacy, traditions and Speaker McCarthy, How much more DMV residents will pay for healthcare, Husband of missing DC real estate executive arrested, Virginia H.S. Dealers now have their own pill presses, explains Drug Enforcement Administration agent Robert Grob at a recent Drug Take Back Day, a collaboration between the Hagerstown Police Department, county health department, and the DEA that encourages local residents to turn in leftover medication for safe disposal. 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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Canal, which passes through Washington County and primarily transported coal, was already in operation by then, having been completed in 1850. Through the investigation and the evidence, officers were able to obtain 11 search warrants. Its not the white picket fence. Men outside a Hammond Street garage. #washcoproud, CDS Possession/Use of Cocaine and Derivatives, CDS Possession/Use of Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl), CDS Sale/Manufacturing Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl), CDS Sale/Manufacturing Other Dangerous Drugs, CDS With Intent to Distribute Narcotics, Please contact Deb Fling at (301) 514-7373 or email, Washington County Government is hiring for full-ti, The Washington County Office of Emergency Manageme, SAVE THE DATE! The person arrested on the outstanding warrant was Violet Benjamin, 53, of Hagerstown. . Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Magnitude 2.0 earthquake reaches Montgomery County, Best smart home devices for older users, according, How to get started on spring cleaning early, according, Worried about your student using ChatGPT for homework? Hagerstown, MD 2 days ago. District of New Jersey (973) 645-2888. Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. Washington County > Washington County Maryland Narcotics Task Force. The Caroline and Dorchester County Task Forces, Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration, were further assisted by Dorchester County States Attorneys Office, Dorchester County Sheriffs Office, MSP Special Operations Group, MSP STATE Team, MSP Homicide, MSP PACE, MSP Gun Unit, MSP Criminal Investigations (Easton, Centreville, Salisbury, Princess Anne and Worcester), MSP Technical Surveillance Unit, Easton Police Department, Wicomico County Sheriffs Office, Talbot County Narcotics Task Force, Kent County Narcotics Task Force, Queen Annes County Narcotics Task Force, Somerset County Narcotics Task Force, Queen Anne's County Sheriffs Office, Federalsburg Police, and the Hurlock Police Department. 12 arrested in Frederick County drug bust | wusa9.com Consider, for example, that three of the four railroad properties on the Monopoly board were spokes in that Hagerstown hub, connecting the city to Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York. Ten years ago, the Hagerstown native started having seizures once or twice a week that left his muscles tense, his bones aching, and his head feeling like it might explode. (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.) icki Sterling, director of the Washington County Health Departments Division of Behavorial Health Services, says the turning point for the county in addressing the opioid epidemic was the death of former Hagerstown police sergeant Kevin Simmers daughter, Brooke, who overdosed on heroin 10 days after she had been released from a four-month prison stay. Police tactics in Pennsylvania prostitution stings - York Daily Record Shortly after Grant was taken into custody, the task force executed a search-and-seizure warrant at 807 Hamilton Blvd., Kerns said. Prosecutors allege that Luna Mota, the owner of Top 3 Sources, was using the West Washington Street store to keep and sell drugs. For the lions share, howevera nearly all-white mix of solitary adults, young and middle-aged couples, teenagers, and parents dragging along childrenit looks like life has been a struggle for a while. The 30-count indictment alleges the operation trafficked large amounts of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride from Hagerstown to Berkeley County, West Virginia, between. In a town with two traditional public high schoolsNorth High and South Highit has become the norm for incoming generations to attend several funerals before seeing their first classmate get married. You have permission to edit this article. If effective, they will be a start in rebuilding Hagerstowns economy and, ultimately, its quality of life. Nobody I know. 34 indicted in drug ring run from Hagerstown appliance store, feds say With the highways and economic factors, its all a perfect storm.. Life is great now, he says. (DG) - A sex trafficking operation was dismantled in Washington County. I mean you can kind of look at it as a small part of the community that we you know are dealing with but we know its not just at the end of security road, washignton gardens that end of town, its all over the town, said Sgt. Two drug busts were done on Wednesday after a three month investigation discovered a drug trafficking organization in the area. Although the city has seen little interest from developers for the empty lots along the trail, Tissue says several nearby buildings have been purchased and rehabbed. Its low-income, and I think its hard for people to find and keep employment there, he says. Hagerstown built automobiles, bottled Coca-Cola, made shoes, clothing, furniture, and Breyers ice cream, and was the worlds largest manufacturer of pipe organs. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Joan Mathias, who are prosecuting the case. West Virginia State Police have denied a request to release dash camera footage or body camera footage of an incident on Feb. 12 on Interstate 81 in Berkeley County, W.Va., in which a Hagerstown man died after a struggle with a trooper. Two more telltale signs of Hagerstowns plight are present here as well: The countys storefront offices sit in an all-but-abandoned shopping center, and nearby is a Superfund site, less than a mile from three public schools, and still in need of remediation two decades after it was added to the EPAs National Priorities List. Police said a more than three-year investigation. Officials in Frederick and Washington Counties seized over $90,000 worth of cocaine and crack cocaine inside of a Hagerstown home. William Miller, one count of distribution of heroin. (Photos from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office) The steel tracks of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad started carrying locomotives from Baltimore in the same direction, straight through the heart of Hagerstown, two years after the end of the Civil War. NOW PLAYING ABOVE. Jim Robison, Director for the Washington County Narcotics Task Force. 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. I wanted to knock down doors and haul bad guys off to jail, and thats what I did for 30 years., Since his daughters death, Simmers and Brooke's stepmother, Dana, have been very public about sharing their experience, sparing none of their familys worst moments and pain. Since the start of the addiction crisis, which now kills more in the U.S. than car accidents and gun violence combined, emergency rescue calls have tripled in Hagerstown. Christine Jenkins, one count of distribution of heroin. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorneys Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. "If they just had a pipefine," he said. Just like all shopping centers it's half empty now and easy to find parking. Along with a prescription for the anti-seizure medication Topamax, his family doctor prescribed him Vicodin to be taken after each episode. a shuttered barber shop on Jonathan Street. We had 13 infant deaths over the past two years, eight of whom were born substance exposed and later died at home because of neglect or some other cause, Piercy says. Saturday mornings are the busiest days of the week because the drug treatment clinic is closed on Sundaysmeaning that several hundred people begin showing up at 5 a.m. to ensure that they can collect their extra day's supply . The school started with 85 students but this year surpassed 300, even though that meant holding classes in hallways and stairwells. All rights reserved. A huge component of this initiative includes a $40-million effort, started in 2017, which will expand three key institutionsthe University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, the Maryland Theatre, and Barbara Ingram School for the Artswith a slated completion date of spring of 2020. Enough Fentanyl to Kill 1 Million People Seized in Hagerstown Bust Drugs, money, weapons confiscated during an operation last week in Hagerstown. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Its hope or heroin out here.. Baltimore, Maryland Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Some of the NFT agents are also federally deputized members of the DEA, which gives these local agents enforcement powers anywhere in the United States. Saturday mornings are the busiest days of the week because the drug treatment clinic is closed on Sundaysmeaning that several hundred people begin showing up at 5 a.m. to ensure that they cancollect their extra days supply of methadone or buprenorphine. Cameron Tibbs, one counts of distribution of heroin. He was released after posting his $5,000 bond. This pooling of investigative resources benefits each investigative unit with increased manpower, less duplication of effort, and by coordinating the targeting of drug offenders. 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. The Frederick Police Department is seeking assistance locating a 17-year-old male, who has been missing since June. Its a problem, says former Hagerstown police chief Victor Brito, who resigned in May to lead the Rockville force. Citing a release from the U . This has been very beneficial since drug violators frequently move through the tri-state area. By Ron Cassie and Lauren LaRocca Photography by BENJAMIN C. TANKERSLEY | July 2018, By Ron Cassie and Lauren LaRocca. 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. Jazzmen Vaughn, one count distribution of heroin and one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin. That investigation led to the Narcotics Task Force obtaining 9 search warrants. On Monday, the following people were brought into custody: Terry Ernede Jr., two counts of distribution of heroin. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; and Sheriff Douglas Mullendore of the Washington County Narcotics Task Force. Maryland drug bust involving fentanyl, cocaine CDS Possession/Use of Cocaine and Derivatives CDS Possession/Use of Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl) CDS Sale/Manufacturing Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl), CDS Sale/Manufacturing Other Dangerous Drugs CDS Possession/Use Opium (Heroin) CDS Sale/Manufacturing Cocaine, CDS Possession/Use- Cocaine CDS Possession/Use of Synthetic Narcotics (Fentanyl) CDS With Intent to Distribute Narcotics, CDS Possession- Not Cannabis CDS Possession/Use, (Use the blue dots to scroll the list of recent arrests). The rear of North and Locust Food Mart. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. Travon Bristol, two counts possession with intent to distribute spice aka K-2 and one count of maintaining a common Nuisance. George Wallace campaigned here in 1968 and 1972. Simms is being held at the Caroline County Detention Center without bond. Hagerstown, Md. Eastern Shore drug trafficking organization dismantled: police - WBAL 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. This pooling of investigative resources benefits each investigative unit with increased manpower, less duplication of effort, and by coordinating the targeting of drug offenders. Three Hagerstown residents charged following drug bust - Herald-Mail Media Scrubbing Baltimores Marble Steps Was My Very First Job, How Actress Rachel Hilsons Baltimore Roots Influence Her Work Today, The Mount Vernon Virtuosi is Much More Than a Chamber Orchestra, Deer Park, MD Was Once an Elite VacationlandThanks in Part to its Famous Water, Artist James Evans Uses Photographs and Words to Combat Prejudice in Nature, Baltimore School for the Arts Debuts a Student-Run Newspaper. Weve been struggling for decades and hopefully this will get the ball rolling, she says. At Meritus Medical Center outside of downtown Hagerstown, nearly three children a week are born addicted to opioids. Grant also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of needles related to drugs; possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana; creating a common nuisance through distributing narcotics; and escape in the second degree, according to Kerns and online court records. 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A Hagerstown appliance store owner is charged with using it as a front for an illegal drug operation estimated to havehandled millions of dollars worth of drugs and proceeds, according to federal authorities. Hagerstown, Maryland Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty to Federal Fentanyl and Four people were apprehended, three in relation to the possession of controlled substances, and one on an outstanding warrant. TheCaroline County Drug Task Force is a multi-agencydrug task force, based inRidgely, Maryland; which functions under the direction and control of thedrug task forceadvisoryboard. 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. I fully bought into the War on Drugs and what Reagan was doing, he says. The investigation involved federal, state and local law enforcement agencies includingthe Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force; the Berkeley and Jefferson County sheriff's offices; the Martinsburg, Charles Town, Ranson and Hagerstown police departments;the Washington County Drug Task Force; West Virginia and Maryland state police; the FBI; the U.S.