From the Harford County Sheriff’s Office:
On Thursday, October 1st 2015 Detectives with the Harford County Task Force received information from a confidential source that a subject in the 400 block of Congress Avenue, Havre de Grace, Maryland was in possession of a large amount of a controlled dangerous substance. Detectives began conducting surveillance in the area and observed the suspect in a vehicle with California registration plates. On several occasions, detectives observed the suspect exit the vehicle and enter an apartment building on Congress Avenue.
Detectives later observed the suspect vehicle leave the location and travel to a local business and then return to the area. While on a trip back, to the 400 block of Congress Avenue, Detectives observed the suspect commit several traffic violations.
Before Detectives could conduct a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle, the suspect parked and exited the vehicle in an expedient manor. Detectives made contact with the suspect who was later identified as Servonte Rhamone Smith, male born in 1989. While on scene, Detectives could smell an overwhelming odor of burnt marijuana emanating from his person. Smith was subsequently placed under arrest.
As Detectives began a search of the suspect vehicle, they observed an open package on the passenger’s side back seat. Upon opening the vehicle’s door, an odor of burnt marijuana emanated from the inside of the vehicle. Inside the open package, Detectives located what appeared to be two “bricks” or “kilos” (kilograms/2.2 pounds per kilogram) of a controlled dangerous substance. The packages were two vacuum-sealed plastic bags wrapped with duct tape that Detectives immediately recognized as being consistent with packaging utilized by drug traffickers.
Smith, the two kilograms of CDS, and the suspect vehicle were transported to the Havre de Grace Police Department to continue the investigation. Detectives later punctured both kilogram packages and observed inside each package a light brown powdery substance suspected to be heroin. A small portion of the substance was removed from each package and field tested. Both tests resulted in a positive reaction for heroin.
As a result of this investigation, follow-up search and seizure warrants were executed at the apartment in the 400 block of Congress Avenue, Havre de Grace, Maryland and at a hotel room in Aberdeen, Maryland. Currency, drug packaging materials, a small amount of marijuana and other related documents were recovered during the execution of these search warrants.
Smith was transported to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center where he was charged with Possession of Heroin, Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Large Amounts of Heroin. Smith is currently being held at the Harford County Detention Center on $200,000 bond. This investigation is still ongoing in an attempt to identify other suspects in this heroin drug trafficking organization.
In an ongoing effort in the fight against the heroin epidemic plaguing our communities, the Task Force is tirelessly pursuing the other members of this heroin trafficking organization in an attempt to bring them to justice for bringing this dangerous and deadly drug into the Harford County communities.
The Harford County Task Force is a highly trained, self-governing, multi-jurisdictional entity with a mission to investigate offenses in the areas of mid to upper level drug trafficking, homeland security, and vice while supporting and facilitating cooperation and coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement. The Harford County Task Force is comprised of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, Aberdeen Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, Havre de Grace Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Harford County States Attorney’s Office, working together to make Harford County a safer place to live.
Wow, now that’s a bust. Taking two Kilos of Heroin off the street even gets the SoulCrusher pleased with the effort. I do think that a $200,000 bond is counterproductive when the man is from Virginia and had California plates. Can you say flight risk? Could’ve been HWOB and no one would have complained. Anyway, that’s quite a haul and getting that crap off the streets is in the best interest of the community and all of Harford County.
Much better than the usual bust photo of 8 pills 1/2 a gram of weed and 50 bucks in singles.
Good job.
Damn, they reduced his bond down to $150,000. That was fast and unexpected. I just made a comment 10 minutes ago and looked the case up and presto, reduction in bond. Anyway, good job Brian Wyzga. Harford County owes you its gratitude.
Was he in a snowball truck?
Thank you to the Harford County Task Force! Thanks for winning that battle, continue to win the war. Your hard work and determination will pay off!!!
Thank goodness we have a crime fighting Sheriff like Jeff Gahler instead of the hug-a-thug Jesse Bane.
My friends and I were talking the other day. When we were teenagers, okay, we tried some pot, maybe hash. We felt pretty cool. But NEVER would we have dreamed of touching heroin. The wildest people that I knew in the John Waters crowd in Fells Point, the bad boy of Baltimore did some Quaaludes but NO ONE who was middle class did smack! We knew better. We knew it was dangerous, a life ender. What is going on in our middle class culture that is creating this boundary crosser? My 17 and 18 year old son and daughter and my 21 year old have had the best education, best food, the most love and security that we could give them. I never had what our kids have had. I would love to know what people think is causing this desire in young people in Harford County to test this limit. It is so stupid.
It is a complex problem. A combination of over prescribed prescription pain killer replacement with cheaper easier to obtain heroin because we liberated the poppy farmers of Afghanistan to flood our country’s middle class neighbor hoods full of entitled kids with too much free time and disposable money because god forbid little jimmy’s parents actually take an active role in his life.
That is really not a fair comment. We have good kids out there, whose parents are very, very much involved in their kids lives, that had sports injuries and car accidents. The Medical field got them hooked on prescription medication, and pills were everywhere on the Streets for last 10 years…Now it is much easier to get heroin than oxy pills. And a heck of a lot cheaper. Its not just kids either. It is adults too~
A lot of these kids also got hooked on the pills. That supply has dried up, and they are still addicts.Bet most of them around here, started on pills…but to blame the parents in a general statement, is just wrong. This is Harford County, Not the City of Baltimore~.
“blaming the parents in a general statement is just wrong.”
I agree. However, blaming the Medical Field in a general statement is also just as wrong.
There are many young folks who also needed and took pain medications prescribed by a physician for certain medical procedures who did not become addicted. More than those who did become addicted.
Look around, while illegal drug use is certainly in our community and we should work to stop it, the users are far less among us than the total of their peers within the community.
You don’t need trendy word smithing ton realize the simple answer is that kids are doped up everywhere because they are bored.
Its not going away, and I suspect its only going to get worse.
@man
Bored? How so? Almost all of them have a smart phone in their hands at all times, interacting with their so called friends. I suppose after awhile even that constant interchange becomes boring.
Hey bud, what else could it be? We don’t need to see hours of presentations from a projector to know kids are shooting up heroin because they aren’t bored.
You can add trendy social babble like “peer pressure” . and big words that people with master degrees get paid to say, but the reality is boredom. They’re bored, they get high as shit.
A drug addict is a drug addict. Whether middle class suburbia or the inner city / slums. All of it derives from a misunderstanding and a bit of misguidance. Stop looking for the escape route of economic class and deal with the fact being your community isn’t a fairytale story. Start with your home and hopefully get to know a neighbor and do something in your community. Stop asking why or how and make a difference.
The task force cops are my heroes. The truth is heroin never left and there is not a resurgence. The issue is the overdoses and deaths. The cops have always attacked the problem but the deaths make headlines. It is your kids friends that introduce them to drugs. Know where your kids are, who their friends are and look for the signs.
Oooo wow a bust because another Snitch ran there mouth. Ya real good job cops you did all what 1 hrs work since a Snitch handed you all info on a silver platter. Ya that’s such hard work for the cops lol
I normally would agree with you. However, realizing the serious danger of Opiates and the reach of the amount that was confiscated, I applaud the Harford County Task Force in their efforts. Do you realize how many users 2 Kilos of heroin would supply? How many deaths have been adverted by this one single act of righteousness? Once again, good job Brian Wyzga. Harford County owes you its gratitude……
I ment no disrespect to the wonderful narcs task force but personally I think there’s a lot more issues then drugs. Taking them doesn’t do nothing but cost tax payers huge money funding the busts then supplying jails to house them. I think we need more money spent on helping the people w habits quit. No customers no drug dealers very simple.
As long as there are drugs there will be drug customers.
And as long as there is Physicians that irresponsibly prescribe Opiates, there will be a heroin problem…..
I usually have difference of opinion with the Soulman. I too believe that Physicians have contributed greatly to both the opiate problem and the associated supply issue. The drugs are given out like candy in many cases. You have Dentists prescribing 50-80 pills for a tooth ache. A Dentist should only be prescribing enough narcotics to bridge the gap between the onset of the pain and the treatment procedure. No one is monitoring the situation. Also, there is significant abuse taking place regarding the prescribing of narcotics through social assistance programs. One only needs to go to any public health facility and observe some of the recipients. They receive there narcotics and will go right out and sell them on the street. They will then make a fraudulent police report of a theft of their prescription. They will then take the police case number back to the clinic and be provided replacement drugs. I am not saying that everyone abuses the system but it does occur quite frequently. Some people truly need the medication for pain. A better system to the monitor the situation needs to be implemented.
Take a look at B-more. Probably 2/3 natives are receiving some sort of .gov money (by fraud most likely), have no job, and otherwise have nothing else to do besides drugs.
Of course they have something else to do, they make babies!!
I hope they get some of the local town dealers. There is enough in town that do not respect their neighbors or streets.
I doubt there will ever be a end all solution that stops the “drug problem” unless the
.gov decides not to regulate what people put in their bodies. Otherwise we will always have Police Officers slappin’ the cuffs and going to court for substance abusers until the end of eternity.
I know that’s not what you want to hear, but its the truth.
Now, you can get less people addicted and abused to illegal substances but that is going to take more ingenious effort than what “we” have been doing the past 30 or so years as its not (obviously) working.
Doesn’t matter as the punishments vary for the crimes. This guy will go to jail quickly but Kyle Reddish still is walking around free 22 months after his first of two arrests and 14 months after pleading guilty. He has 5 different dates for sentencing hearings all postponed.
Bottom line is if Kyle Reddish were black or hispanic the rules would be different!
Not being Black or Hispanic has nothing to do with why Kyle is still walking around. Think about it
Why do you suppose he is waiting around not actually serving out a sentence for his 4 felonies and multiple misdemenors?
Black and Hispanic Drug Users are not usually offered 22 months of freedom.
He is a convicted Felon getting special treatment. If he was Black he would be in jail by now!
Can you say cooperation? It’s really not that hard.
I haven’t looked at anyones “case search” but I’d assume the Kyle boy’s parents paid for all his legal matters. Private attorney, bond, etc.
Your atypical Baltimore city substance abuser that gets locked up every year probably can’t make bond, and probably has to use a public defender.
I don’t call cooperation getting locked up once, than going on a bender while out on bond damaging property 3 months later. I don’t call it cooperation when you take 6 months to plea bargain after the trial date is set! I call it stalking to enjoy freedom when your butt should be in jail. I bet if he was black he would be in jail not residing out of state!
Finally, I am able to get on this site, The Dagger and not read any racist comments that usually occurs when a black person gets arrested. I am so glad people came from under the rock they were under, and realized this is 2015 and not 1940. Thank u, I am so proud, what a blessing.
Kiki, you’re not on the right article. The racists really come out when the Dagger has stories about armed robberies. That’s when you’ll see the Dagger at its WORST. Have patience, you’ll see it soon enough……