A significant crackdown on cocaine and fentanyl trafficking in the Capital Region has resulted in the detention of twenty-one people.
The ring transported drugs from Brooklyn and distributed them across Rensselaer, Albany, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties, the Attorney General’s Office revealed on Tuesday. Investigators seized almost 4.5 kg with a street value of around $450,000.
The accusation against Heather Thompson, 38, of Troy is that she bought cocaine by the kilogram and then sold it to a network of dealers nearby.
According to investigators, Thompson did much of his business in Saratoga County, including sales at a local tavern and bowling alley.
The second significant ringleader was Jermaine Moreno, 48, of Brooklyn, who allegedly drove kilos of cocaine from New York City to sell to Thompson. She would then divide the supply into amounts ranging from 10 to 100 grams and call her buyers, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The accused reportedly used code language to describe the substances. Crack cocaine was “hard” or done; powder cocaine was “soft” or “undone,” and heroin was “dog food.”
Major trafficking charges against Thompson and Moreno carry a mandatory life sentence in state prison.
The indictment also included charges against the following individuals:
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- Alexander Bayne, South Glens Falls/Hudson Falls, 35
- Conrad Bayne, South Glens Falls, 59
- Zachary Bessette, North Creek, 33
- Kevin Cooper, Glens Falls, 38
- Trevor Harris, South Glens Falls, 35
- Ronnie Luna, Glens Falls, 42
- Lindsey Mattison, West Rupert, VT, 34
- Ryan Megna, Glens Falls, 42
- Jack Moulton, South Glens Falls, 35
- Cassidy O’Connell, Glens Falls, 30
- Wesley Reed, Jr., Troy, 59
- Wesley Reed, III, Troy, 38
- Christine Sondermeyer, Glens Falls, 53
- Melissa Stearns, Hudson Falls, 38
- Lonsdale Stuffle, Glens Falls, 30
- Mackenzie Sumner, Glens Falls, 37
- Jackson Tucker, Troy, 43
- Christopher Wern, Glens Falls, 41
- Walter Winchell, Glens Falls, 49
As part of the Attorney General’s Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic (SURGE) initiative, law enforcement authorities made several arrests in their efforts to eliminate violent drug trafficking.
