From the Harford County Sheriff’s Office:
Harford County Drug Taskforce Hosts Heroin Enforcement Saturation Detail
Yesterday, the Harford County Drug Taskforce, along with multiple law enforcement partners, conducted a multi-jurisdictional saturation effort throughout communities in Harford County. This special detail is part of law enforcement’s ongoing heroin reduction efforts and focused on conducting vehicle and pedestrian interdiction on major roadways throughout Harford County, as well as in designated Safe Street neighborhoods.
The geography of Harford County provides several alternative routes often utilized by drug traffickers and others involved in criminal activity to avoid police interdiction efforts on I-95.
Using a strong law enforcement presence, saturation, and interdiction efforts can result in arrests for narcotics violations, in addition to, arrests for other crimes to include burglaries, thefts and traffic related offenses. The initiative was designed to meet the following goals: make the streets of Harford County safer for pedestrians and drivers; detect and arrest illegal drug users and sellers, and those drivers who are under the influence; promote public awareness of the dangers of heroin and drugged driving; most importantly, demonstrate to the citizens of Harford County that its law enforcement agencies care about the heroin epidemic effecting them and are united in their commitment to eradicating it.
Law enforcement utilized a combination of variable messages promoting heroin “check points” set up on major roadways throughout the county, combined with proactive vehicle and pedestrian interdiction in designated locations and “Hot Spot” neighborhoods known for heroin use and sales. Variable message signs were used through the detail to raise awareness that law enforcement was saturating the area. Focusing on areas known for drug trafficking and drugged driving, these “check points” were conducted on Route 152, Route 1, Route 24, and Route 40. As opposed to the traditional DUI Checkpoints most are familiar with, in these “checkpoint” areas, vehicles continued on the roadway without being required to slow down or stop. Those vehicles that were pulled over, were done so after they were observed committing some type of motor vehicle violation. As we had the opportunity to come in contact with motorists, two pamphlets were available; the first provided heroin awareness information, the second provided information for those struggling with drug addiction.
In total, there were approximately 73 law enforcement officers who participated, representing: The Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, Havre De Grace Police Department, Aberdeen Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
This detail resulted in ten arrests and the seizure of $7,000 cash, one switchblade knife, illegal drugs to include more than 20 pounds of marijuana, opiates and prescription pills, and related drug paraphernalia. Additionally, 32 traffic citations, 148 warnings, and 18 repair orders were issued during the operation.
Sheriff Gahler remarked, “This morning the number of heroin related overdoses Harford County law enforcement have responded to stands at 156 nonfatal overdoses and 24 overdoses which have proven to be fatal. We must work tirelessly to eradicate this dangerous drug from our community. High visibility law enforcement details, such as the one from yesterday, send a clear message to the drug dealers in our community – you are not welcome here. Still, much needs to be done, but we will not rest until the job is complete.”
During the detail, ten arrests were made as follows:
Anthony Serio, DOB: 12/1989
Address: Ferguson Road, Joppa, Maryland 20185
Charge: Possession of controlled substances
Angelo Jose Ricardo, DOB: 07/1981
Address: Primrose Place, Belcamp, MD
Charge: Possession of controlled substances
Sean Russell Tyree, DOB: 9/1991
Address: Garnette Road, Joppa, Maryland 21085
Charge: Possession of illegal weapon
Garrett Lee Sheckells, DOB: 7/1984
Address: Rocksberry Court, Joppa, Maryland 21085
Arrested for active warrant
Amber Noel Blishche-Rihel, DOB: 12/1978
Address: Holibird Ave, Dundalk
Charge: Possession of controlled substances
Brian James Cameron, W/M, DOB: 11/1994
Address: Havre De Grace, Maryland
Charge: Driving under the influence of alcohol or CDS
Stuart Lucian Holko, W/M, DOB: 8/1987
Address: Cheverly Court, Abingdon, MD 21009
Charge: Driving under the influence of alcohol or CDS
Sean Schmidt, DOB: 04/1997
Address: Charles Cannon Road, Marion Station, MD 21838
Arrested for active warrant
Ronald James Slavin Jr., DOB: 2/1987
Address: Makard Road, Sacramento, CA
Charge: Felony possession/Large amount of CDS/Possession with Intent to Distribute
Richard Smith, DOB: 10/1946
Address: Four Seasons Court, Dundalk, MD 21222
Arrested for active warrant
If you need help with your addiction, consider a drug rehab program.
20 pounds of various drugs which are mostly pot. What were the quantities of the other drugs that were found? Marijuana is illegal but isn’t a problem when it comes to overdoses, thefts from cars and burglaries. How much heroin and pills were recovered? This seems like a way for the Sheriff To sugarcoat things. Let’s attack the real drug problem Sheriff Gahler.
Your right next time they see drugs that isn’t heroine just let it be. Just let those drug dealers alone …
Just take a look at the priors. The serio guy has a ton of them!!!
Dear Sheriff Gahler –
Your efforts to take pounds of weeds off the road are to be commended but the real danger we all face every day on the counties highways and by ways are the soccer moms blathering away on their cell phones while doing 60 in a 30mph zone.
8 Pounds of weed never killed someone as dead as a ditzy blonde with a cell phone.
You should run for sheriff. For get the drug dealers , get the cell phone bandits.
Down south, they do like, Drivers license/registration/insurance check points.
Yeah, we know check points are a “PR” campaign, great way to hand out pamphlets that people probably toss out the window 3 miles down the road.
While I think its great they are taking people off the street, let’s still continue to ignore the elephant in the room. Look at the age group of everyone arrested.
I personally believe our drug problem will only get worse. Sorry to be so negative, but there isn’t anything I’m seeing that will make it better.
Boy, I sure wish they would put the same amount of effort into Mile 74 and in the area of of Interstate 95.
What am I talking about? Just about everyday there is a mangled up motor vehicle crash there everyday.
Thank you for enforcing and making our community a safer place to DRIVE and live~
Everyday I hear at least one OD call on the scanner. (Belair) sad…. I’m proud that our county is trying to do something about it.
Well, let’s just toss out our 4th amendment rights under the guise of public “safety.” People crack me up with their ” if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about” crap. Once the line has been crossed there’s no coming back, folks. Sheriff Gahler is a moron and the Hazard County Sheriff’s Office are pathetic
The Harford County Criminal Justice System does not, has not and will not allow you to use your constitutional rights to avoid a conviction. Period. All you got to do is go check out 12K09002034 and 12K10000013 in the Harford County Circuit Court records for proof of what I type. The cooperation of the State’s Attorney Office, Courts and Law Enforcement in covering up the truth and inserting nothing but lies in the statement of court facts is reprehensible. They will violate every right guaranteed by the constitution and the state constitution as if it were standard operating procedure. This is because in Harford County it is standard operating procedure. No Judge will allow your rights to stand, nor will any attorney you hire be allowed to defend you. You WILL be convicted and the Court will allow it to stand even if you have a Supreme Court decision that supports your case. This is the truth, nothing but the truth, so help me god…..
Correct me if I’m wrong but you entered an Alford Plea. Isn’t that when you don’t admit guilt but agree that the state has enough to convict you? If that was the case, why not go to a full jury and let your peers convict or not convict in the spirit of the Constitution.
I was forced into an Alford Plea because the state would not agree to hold a Suppression Hearing or a Frank’s Hearing. I was also threatened by the state thru my own attorney. The Alford Plea was done to give the state waivers of my rights, so they think, as to the actuality of the unlawfulness of their actions. Alford Pleas are forced/coerced in Harford County to protect Agents of the State who have broken the law and violated the Constitution from criminal prosecution and termination of their employment. You may not like the truth, but it is what it is…..
I’m no attorney but it’s not up to the DA to hold a suppression hearing, you are entitled to it, so you should have had one. Maybe your lawyer wanted too much money to provide the best defense and counsel for you, that’s where the real crime is. Had you represented yourself and filed for hearings they would have been held but you had a lawyer who should have done that. Don’t take this personally but I think that you got screwed by both sides.
Agreed, I took it from the front and the back. However, the attorney was paid in full, but choose to be a prosecutor and not my attorney. Its no shock that after the conviction I found out that my attorney and the presiding Judge, were in fact old friends from the time they spent at law school. Complete and utter corruption. But that is what they teach you at the University of Maryland, isn’t it?
Not this crap again
@Enough Already – You will hear it until the end of time. The truth is not crap, it’s the truth.
Soul Crusher is a criminal. Found guilty plain and simple.
Yes, found guilty by a corrupt Jurisdiction who has no honor and integrity. Anyone who condones the state’s illegal actions against me, is not just my enemy, but an enemy of every citizen in this country that believes the Constitution is the basis for our law, way of life and freedom. The argument that my breaking the law, of growing marijuana, is good reason for agents of the state, to knowingly and willingly, break the law and commit constitutional intrusions, in the name of the state, is hypocritical and defunct of any good faith or principle. The conviction I bear is inherently illegal and was forced upon me by means of coercion, threats, ineffective assistance of counsel and deprivation of my liberty and rights. If you think this is the way our legal system is supposed to work, then you and I have totally different ideas of what the law is. That is why I say the law has become lawless and anyone who disagrees, I declare them ball less..
Hey Jason, plain and simple fact for you and your followers: It is not a ‘Constitutional Right ” to drive on any road in this country. It is a PRIVILEGE to drive on the streets and roads. So who’s the “MORON” now? The Sheriff is a good and decent man trying to rid this county of the drug epidemic and the majority (not all ) of his Deputies are dedicated hard working people. Maybe we all and yourself especially should be thankful they are out there. Image what the world would be like out there without decent officers and “MORONS” like you running a muck out there? God Bless you and your misguided although constitutionally protected right to speak your pea sized brain thoughts!
That maybe but these checkpoints were not set up with the intent of making the road safer, rather attempting to find people carrying drugs. SCOTUS ruled this is a violation of the 4th amendment!
A drivers license is a privilege but traveling isn’t.
You can be “stopped” and further reasonable articulate suspicion (backed by courts) can lead to contraband arrest.
If you’re walking down the street and a Police officer asks for your ID, you can surely refuse and keep walking.
@ Jason
I understand your position and sadly you make some valid arguments based on the verbiage of our existing constitutional amendments. However, I strongly believe that our founding fathers did not create the Constitution to protect CRIMINALS. The drug trade is a primary cause of so much of the violence and death going on today. Just watch the news. CRIMINALS are using the constitution to “knowingly” shield themselves from prosecution. Case in point: I repeatedly read to the point of nauseation about how the Soul Crusher feels that his constitutional rights were violated when he knowingly decided to break the law. He was counting on the constitution to protect him when he knew he was violating the law. Again, I really don’t think that is what our founding fathers had in mind when they were drafting the paper. The constitution was designed to protect innocent people from inappropriate government activity not to facilitate criminal activity. I think we have painted ourselves in to a corner and no I don’t have a solution to the lethal drug problem which exists in our country. Furthermore, to cast names at Sheriff Gahler for attempting to address the problem is both unfair and moronic. Maybe you should call Sheriff Gahler and proffer some strategies to help him solve the drug problems before it effects you or yours personally.
First, let me be clear, Open Your Eyes is a complete A$$HOLE. Second, our founding fathers were in fact, smugglers and possessors of contraband as to the laws of the KING. The 4th Amendment was designed to protect the people in their homes, regardless of what contraband they possessed in them. OPEN YOUR EYES, you can keep spreading the lies of the Harford County Criminal Justice system all you want, but I will speak the truth, as you are not capable of doing the same. Just for the record, you don’t have 4th amendment rights while travelling on a state owned highway unless its something in a container or locked in a box. Even then, if a dog sniff is done on the car, the container may be opened if the dog alerted to the presence of contraband. Just remember, they only have 15 minutes to get the dog to your vehicle to do the sniff or it is an illegal search……
What it boils down to is this: If you are going to engage in illegal activities, make sure your registration is up to date and your tag lights are in working order. Don’t toss your empties in the backseat and don’t roll up in a cloud of smoke. ….it just makes sense, kids.
Soul Crusher is my child and he is special.
It’s not my style to tell anyone what to do with their kid, but you might want to get him one of those ‘thin blue line’ stickers for his helmet.
Black is as black does.
Because your argument is nothing but Hogwash, why don’t you reread the Jardines ruling of 2013. He was definitely growing weed in his home and the SCOTUS found the search to be unconstitutional. His conviction was vacated, as mine should be for the exact same violation of the US Constitution. Furthermore, I believe that in 2009, the way they opened a locked and secured door to conduct a dog sniff, that this search was illegal even then. Harford County is corrupt and your Circuit Court is still violating my rights under color of law, by not ruling on the case. I would prefer Judge Bowen to just deny the petition, so I could get this in front of an honorable court at the Appellate level. However, she is doing anything and everything she can to NOT let this happen.
Al Sharpton has visited the White House over 70 times. Racist is as racist Obama n Chief does.
What’s that got to do with anything that’s being talked about…..
Most people are unaware of the 2000 (?) Supreme Court Ruling that’s its no good for Police to setup “checkpoints” for drugs. Im not certain how DUI check points are still valid, but you don’t have to speak with law enforcement and they don’t have to speak to you either.
This wasn’t a “checkpoint” at all. They just borrowed road signs and typed in that text and “stopped” people for traffic/vehicle/cell phone violations.
Its great for publicity, especially when you hand out pamphlets for “awareness”
A duo point is still legal because they are enforcing a traffic law. Here the point was not to enforce a traffic ordinance. They simply used that as a front for something else!
“Traffic offenses” net contraband everyday, to include drivers under the influence.
This was just a multi agency staged saturation detail, with a sign, and passing out pamphlets at the conclusion of what they stopped vehicles for.
CDEV loves Obama and Sharpton, em hmmmm
Just so we’re clear I have nothing but respect for the U.S. Constitution and those that are sworn to uphold and enforce it. However I have no respect!!!!! For those that choose to bend twist and manipulate it’s meanings, definitions, and rules to skirt the very rules of law each of us should be expected to obey. It appears that criminals seem to forget this very point when they get caught and want to cry they got bad counsel, or the police opened a door they shouldn’t have, or someone else involves in the same illicit trade might actually offer information to the police in an effort to help themselves. So simply put if you can’t stand to do the time don’t fo the crime. The constitution wasn’t written to provide a defense to criminals and anyone who buys into these shameful ideas should be discarded with the trash!!!!!
No, the Constitution was put in place, to constrain the law and government, to act in a manner that is acceptable to the men who founded this country in the face of tyranny. The same tyranny we are facing right now due to the erosion of our rights in the name of security. Now, I did the time. I suffered all the consequences. Now, that its all over, it must be redressed as a matter of an inherently illegal sentence and conviction. I have no respect for anyone who thinks otherwise and yes I’m talking directly to you! If I was charged and convicted, the same must befall those who broke the law and violated the constitution while performing their duties. They did so knowingly and willingly, in total disregard for Title 18 of the US Code, section 242. That’s where were at. The Court won’t rule, so they can protect themselves and Agents of the state from the justice that awaits them. That’s all that is to it. Its called corruption and its SOP in Harford County, Maryland…….
I’ve been reading about this for an awful long time and have decided to remark. Convictions are overturned all the time due to constitutional reasons. The reasoning of “Just so we’re clear” is not correct. Everyone knows this when they read this stuff. If everything this “Soul Crusher” says is true, then you guys are in for a rude awakening if he ever gets his crap together and gets this in front of another court. That’s all I have to say about it.
I appreciate your comment. At least I know that some one out there has some sense…..
Apparently my point was overlooked, as I am not naive to the fact that overzealous cops and sometimes rogue prosecutors do exist. My point is quite simple as I am often disturbed when criminals decide to use the possibly illicit activities of others as a hall pass for their own illicit activities. In an effort to simplify my point I ask any criminal to ask themselves these simple yes or no questions:
1. Are you aware that the activities you are engaged in are illegal?
2. Do you or did you participate in said criminal activity of your own free will?
3. In doing so are you aware that if caught participating in said activity you may be subject to penalties of imprisonment, fine and or both?
Easy questions right????? And yes they can be asked of any person engaged in any criminal or illicit activity.
A simpler analogy can be made in that life is not a football game and sorry but we don’t live with off setting penalties even if they are comitted by both the offense and defense.
What I find most disturbing and can not understand is the psyche of the Soulman. Constitutional issues not withstanding. In his mind he seems to be able to justify (to himself) the breaking of laws as long as they can be concealed within his residence. He feels that the constitution should protect him in all of his endeavors as long as he acts with in the confines of his castle. In his case it was growing/manufacturing marijuana. My question is, with this mind set, does he have boundaries? What is his bottom line with regard to laws that he choses on his own volition to violate with in the boundaries of his home.
What I find interesting, is that you condone illegal and unconstitutional actions of the state, to convict and never fix the constitutional error. I also find it interesting that you believe that Law Enforcement can knowingly and willingly break the law, without any consequences, as long as they stop a non violent crime that effected no one but the person who committed it. You’re really not worth communicating with as you are acting and thinking like a Nazi. Now, I’m not going to tell anyone that I am sorry for breaking a law that effected absolutely no one but myself. I’m not going to beg some Judge for mercy or forgiveness, when the conviction was inherently illegal and I’m not going to change my story to prevent the world from knowing what really happened up their in your corrupt little county.
You guys have no point. You are condoning the cover-up actions of the Agents of the State, the Prosecution and the Courts. This is not allowable. Now, I’ve paid the price and its time for the Agents of the State, the Prosecution and the Harford County Circuit Court to pay the price. The conviction was inherently illegal and it must be voided. That’s all that is to it.
This thread turned to crap in a hurry…..
Everyone who knows anything , knows that there is no justice in Hartford co. It is the most politically corrupt county in Maryland if not in the country. Sell your home, take the kids out of school. Get the hell out of this sess pool of a county. Get out of Maryland. It is run by pathetic evil people who’s only purpose in life is to eat the flesh of the free n get as much of their money as possible. Leave these breathing dead people to themselves. They will consume each other!!.. but I’m sure they’ll butt fock each other first!!!! Harford County, what a pathetic place to live…and before you spew your spit…yea I got out of your putrid state..I now piss on you from afar….lol
The United States of America…the land of the free? and the courtroom of the judge n lawyer, where they feed on the people…this is freedom?