SULLIVAN — The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office released more information over the weekend regarding a three-month investigation into street level narcotics sales in the Monticello, Liberty and Jeffersonville areas.
On Wednesday, May 26, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office Gang and Narcotics Intelligence Unit executed a search warrant at 28 Taylor A Road in Jeffersonville (Town of Delaware).

The location, which is on a quiet dead end road, is alleged to have been a distribution point for a large portion of the heroin that is trafficked in Sullivan County.

At the location deputies seized over 500 bags of heroin/fentanyl, a quantity of crack cocaine, suboxone strips, packaging materials, a scale and $3,400.

Further investigation led deputies to two additional locations; 564 Willi Hill Road in White Sulphur Springs where seven ounces of heroin/fentanyl was recovered and 313 Cooks Brook Road in the Delaware County town of Colchester where approximately $11,000 was seized.

As a result of the execution of these search warrants, the following eight suspects were charged:
Carlos Colon, 30, of Liberty - charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd degree – a Class A-II felony, 3 counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd degree, a class B felony, Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd degree, a class B felony and Conspiracy 4th degree, a class E felony.
The defendant was sent to the Sullivan County Jail without bail.

Salvatore Heinrich, 33, and Richard Patterson, 27, both of Jeffersonville where each charged with 2 counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd degree, a class B felony, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 4th degree, a class C felony, and Conspiracy 4th, a class E felony. 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, a class B felony. Bierstine was released on her own recognizance.

Alex Eschenberg, 34, of Callicoon, Stephen Mootz, 37, of Callicoon Center and Aaliyah Garcia, 18, of Jeffersonville were charged with Loitering 1st, a class B Misdemeanor. All three suspects were issued appearance tickets and released.

Carlos Ortiz, 24, of Liberty was arrested for 2 counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd degree, a class B Felony. Ortiz was released on his own recognizance.

Sheriff Mike Schiff described the defendants as alleged “participants” in a network of Sullivan County drug distribution, with Carlos Colon of Liberty allegedly as the head of this particular organization.
“The product that Carlos Colon sells makes him a purveyor of death and despair,” Schiff said, noting that the overdose rate in Sullivan County is “off the charts.”

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Colon was out on bail, awaiting sentencing for a previous drug conviction when he was arrested on the new charges.

District Attorney Meagan Galligan said, “While Sheriff Schiff and I have promised to seek help for those whose addiction has not yet endangered others, we intend to identify, investigate and hold responsible those who prey upon addiction for profit.”

Galligan said that the investigation was a result of an ongoing, coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies against the opiate crisis in Sullivan County.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, who prepared the search warrants, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the Town of Colchester Police Department and the Village of Liberty Police.