After a three month investigation in Sullivan County, eight arrests were made for street level narcotic sales in the areas of Monticello, Liberty and Jeffersonville.

In a statement issued by the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, a search warrant was executed on Wednesday May 26, 2021 at a location that was alleged to be a distribution point for a great deal of heroin trafficked in Sullivan County.

More than 500 bags of heroin/fentanyl, a quantity of crack cocaine, suboxone strips, packaging materials, a scale and $3400 were recovered at the initial location, which then led officials to two additional locations to search.  At the second, seven ounces of heroin/fentanyl was recovered, and at the third, approximately $11,000 was seized.

A total of eight suspects were arrested following the searches, and according to the press release from the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office.   Felony charges are as follows:

  • Carlos Colon, 30, of Liberty was sent to the Sullivan County Jail without bail after being charged with multiple felonies including criminal possession of a controlled substance 2nd degree, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd degree, criminal sale of a controlled substance 3rd degree, and conspiracy 4th degree.
  • Salvatore Heinrich, 33, and Richard Patterson, 27, both of Jeffersonville were each charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance 4th  degree, and conspiracy 4th. Heinrich was remanded to the Sullivan County Jail without bail. Patterson was released on his own recognizance.
  • Alanna Bierstine, 32, of White Sulphur Springs was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd degree, and released on her own recognizance.
  • Carlos Ortiz, 24, of Liberty was arrested for 2 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance 3rd  degree and released on his own recognizance.

The following were charged with misdemeanors, issued appearance tickets, and released:

  • Alex Eschenberg, 34, of  Callicoon, Stephen Mootz, 37 of Callicoon Center and Aaliyah Garcia, 18, of  Jeffersonville were charged with loitering 1st.

Sullivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff is quoted as citing Colon, who was out on bail and awaiting sentencing for a previous drug conviction when he was arrested for these new charges, as the head of this particular operation.

The product that Carlos Colon sells makes him a purveyor of death and despair; the overdose rate in Sullivan County is off the charts.

In addition to the Sullivan County Sheriff's office, assistance was provided by the Sullivan County District Attorney's Office, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the Town of Colchester Police Department and the Village of Liberty Police.

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