Plainspoken but good-natured, and a well-respected journalist, Elliott started atTheHerald-Mailin 1970. Information for Victims of 1st Million Dollars, LLC. s the former managing editor of Hagerstowns daily newspaper,The Herald-Mail, Dave Elliott witnessed firsthand the citys downward spiral. 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. The number of child abuse cases has gone up. As a result of the executed search warrant at Smiths storage unit, law enforcement located 15.4 grams of heroin, 8.9 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, digital scales with suspected heroin residue, numerous small plastic baggies, and a glass jar containing a suspected cutting agent. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Wares residence. four counts of possession with intent to distribute spice, three counts of maintaining a common nuisance for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Citing a release from the U . 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. From the early 1970s onward, there was a vacuumeconomically, socially, politically, culturally. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. I was on the other side, and I get it, and people have every right to make that point.. 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. Hagerstown, Maryland Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty to Federal Fentanyl and Heroin Drug Charges Drug Enforcement Administration Jarod A. But the current economic picture in Hagerstown stands in stark contrast to the days when it earned its Hub City nicknamewhen five major passenger and freight lines merged here in a way that resembled the spokes of a wheel. Everyone had a story., n its heyday, Hagerstown built the massive Fairchild transport planes that carried U.S. troops across the Pacific during the Korean War; post-war, they made Boeing jets. The homes that were searched were in Preston, Hurlock, Federalsburg, Lanham and Crofton. in Hagerstowns North End, according to Lt. Todd Kerns, who served as the task forces director in 2013. This pooling of investigative resources benefits each investigative unit with increased manpower, less duplication of effort, and by coordinating the targeting of drug offenders. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. 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. Most Popular. osh Morningstar could be the poster boy for the use of prescription opioids gone awry. In 2009, an old theater was transformed into BISFA, a magnet arts high school. Christina Trenton Nee, COO, and Charlie Mooneyhan, CEO, of Wells House. And now, Hagerstowns unique coordinates, once its greatest asset, play a leading role in enabling its public health crisis. Jazzmen Vaughn, one count distribution of heroin and one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin. HAGERSTOWN, Md. 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. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia Air National Guard;U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and U.S. attorney's offices in West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Theyre bringing in students from nearby counties and occasionally out of state. Local Hagerstown, MD. HAGERSTOWN, Md. Stretching from New York to Tennessee and Baltimore to Utah respectively, I-81 and I-70 are two of the longest interstates in the U.S., and they intersect in Hagerstown. On February 19, city health officials reported the number of heroin overdoses to which EMS crews and city police responded to. "If they just had a pipefine . 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. Additionally, in less than one month, Smith and Tyler contacted each other 714 times by cell phone. (DC News Now) The Hagerstown Police Department said officers executed a search and seizure warrant at 115 S. Mulberry St. on Oct. 7, finding fentanyl, crack cocaine, $5,000 cash, and firearms. This has been very beneficial since drug violators frequently move through the tri-state area. Kevin Simmers relished locking up drug users, no matter how little crack they had on them. The Washington County Narcotics Task Force recovered approximately 188 grams of suspected heroin and 95 grams of suspected methamphetamine Monday from 807 Hamilton Blvd. Photography by Benjamin C. Tankersley | July 2018. the sun has yet to rise over South Mountain, but already a line of cars is arriving at the Phoenix Health Center in Hagerstown. The following people were indicted during the investigation: Justin Aaron Spain, 41, of Lanham, Maryland. 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. 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. A locked padlock About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Multiple law enforcement agencies ultimately provided assistance with the investigation. Authorities are reporting 12 people have been charged with sex offenses, and seven victims have been placed into the harm reduction program with the Washington County Health Department. Read More. Or an illegal immigrant? HAGERSTOWN, Md. Then he went from eating it to snorting it. Others walk from nearby apartments. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Its a phone call away. A local taxi company sporadically drops people off. 6:15 AM. nyone wishing to report narcotics information is encouraged to contact the task force by calling 301-791-3205, emailing, Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, 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? Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Its a huge step forward. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Baltimore, Maryland Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Instead, he sought help by way of Suboxone (the commercial name for a combination of buprenorphineand naloxone), which he considers a miracle. Christina Boward, two counts of distribution of heroin. The Washington Narcotics Task Force has made 11 arrests in connection to a local drug trafficking organization investigation. 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. , 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. This epidemic, largely caused by the pharmaceutical industrys complete lack of accountability or care about anyone or anything other than their pockets, has wreaked havoc on my city, Keller said. Spain is being held without bond at the Caroline County Detention Center. Jackie Devon Thompson, 41, of Frederick, Md. He was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of heroin. The Frederick Police Department is seeking assistance locating a 17-year-old male, who has been missing since June. 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. Now, how many families do you know that have been affected by addiction? Their daughter, who grew up playing soccer and basketball, became hooked on pills by 18 and then turned to heroin. 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. 100 West Washington Street Hagerstown, MD 21740. Images courtesy of Hagerstown police Department. We get to engage and feel like were being a positive influence on the city.. a shuttered barber shop on Jonathan Street. All it takes is a little fentanylor a microgram of carfentanyl, which is 100 times more potent. President Donald Trump spoke to a packed hangar at Hagerstown Regional Airport during his campaign in 2016 and won the county vote by a 2-1 margin. he one place in Maryland that has had a long struggle with heroin use is Baltimore, of course. Hagerstown, MD 3 days ago. 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. In a Brookings Institution study of 114 metropolitan areas that specialized in manufacturing from 1980-2005, the Hagerstown-Martinsburg (West Virginia) area had the second-highest percentage of industry job change in the U.S., a staggering 70 percent. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for October 7, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. And for the past two-and-a-half decades, the city has taken a public health approach to addiction, offering methadone programs, needle exchanges, HIV testing, and inpatient treatment opportunities before the pharmaceutical industry dumped OxyContin and other opioids onto a nave market. 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. All rights reserved. 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. Stephen McCormick, two counts of distribution of cocaine. 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. Anderson was charged with distribution of narcotics and possession of a controlled dangerous substance that was not marijuana, according to online court records. The crisis, he says, is driving a dramatic increase in infant mortality rates, a bellwether for other social problems. Hitachi Rail Factory "on track" in Hagerstown. (It also broke a record last year with eight homicides, sending its per capita murder rate past Philadelphia and Chicago.). Travon Bristol, two counts possession with intent to distribute spice aka K-2 and one count of maintaining a common Nuisance. Woolford is being held at the Dorchester County Detention Center held without bond. A methadone clinic was not a part of that vision. In an indictment unsealed on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur announced that four have been arrested and two are still being sought in connection with the Hagerstown drug bust. Prosecutors alleged they conspired to sell 100 grams or more of heroin, 500 grams or more of cocaine and . When the University System of Maryland satellite campus at University Plaza was established in the city center in 2005, it was the first time anything like that had moved into town in decades: something big, with money behind it and staying power. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $410,016 in cash, six vehicles and a .22-caliber revolver and ammunition. CARROLL COUNTY 30-year-old James Samms was arrested for drug distribution conspiracy. From March 20 to April 24, 2019, law enforcement surveilled activity at the suspected unit on a daily basis and observed Smith opening the storage unit to weigh and process suspected narcotics for distribution. HAGERSTOWN, Md. 2023 Washington County. Hagerstown, Md. However, the shops we visited had good deals and were brightly lit, clean and had nice staff. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Joan Mathias, who are prosecuting the case. 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. Big out-of-town industries such as Fairchild Aircraft, which once employed 10,000 people and closed its plant in 83, and Mack Trucks, which arrived in 1961 (and still makes trucks here, although it employs fewer people), were controlled from a distance and had no stake in the community, Elliott asserts. "If they just had a pipefine," he said. Call (240) 382-2757 or get your auth barcode quickly online. Grant briefly escaped, fleeing while handcuffed, and was captured a short distance away, Kerns said. Breezy Jill Beckette, 22, of 807 Hamilton Blvd. Smith and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Smith will be sentenced to 92 months in federal prison followed by 4 years of supervised release. An official website of the United States government. Hagerstown, MD 4 days ago. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Arrest made in Feb. 5 Hagerstown homicide. 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. Those kind of manufacturing jobs generally pulled up stakes for cheaper labor in the South or overseas, a trend that has continued. More than 80 percent of students at three Hagerstown public schools receive free or reduced-priced lunches. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. He was taken into custody Tuesday at his Security Road home, Kerns said. Nobody I know. We kind of got shit pie handed to us., Source: Maryland Vital Statistics Administration. Information entered into this system will be submitted to the Washington County Narcotics Task Force only. A list of the indicted individuals is available on the U.S. Department of Justice website. She highlighted not just the personal toll of the opioid epidemic on families but decreasing property values, its effect on businesses and workforce participation rates, and the immense strain placed on the citys police, EMS, and fire department budgets. 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. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. He moved toThe Frederick News-Postin 1989 but lived in Hagerstown until 2000. She discusses plans for the rollout of a new awareness program, Washington Goes Purple, a symbolic color adopted by opioid prevention advocates, geared toward steering youth away from substance abuse. 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. The rear of North and Locust Food Mart. 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. "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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. She can be reached via email at julieg@herald-mail.com. 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. The drugs seized during the investigation amounted to 8.6 kilograms of cocaine, 1.02 kilograms of heroin, and 12 ounces of cocaine base "crack," with a street value of approximately $471,000. Mayor Richard Trump (no relation to the president),who ran for office on a slate that promised to return God to City Hall, abruptly resigned without explanation after nine months in office in 2006. Spain is being held at the Caroline County Detention Center without bond. Life is great now, 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. In an emotional press conference, she pointed the finger directly at the pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, which hired hundreds of sales representatives to promote their product and has been accused of using misleading information to hide the drugs addiction potential.