21 arrests in Ellenville drug-trafficking raid - Times Herald-Record

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ELLENVILLE — Police swept up 21 people and seized drugs during a pre-dawn raid Friday.

Two of those arrested are alleged gang members, while two others were charged with selling within a school zone. The raid culminates a yearlong investigation into drug trafficking in the Ellenville area.

All of the suspects were located during the 4 a.m. crackdown and none remain at large.

"These individuals have been selling poison for a long time," said Ulster County Assistant District Attorney Gerard Van Loan. "These arrests will prove that selling drugs doesn't pay in the long run."

The suspects were accused of selling everything from crack cocaine to marijuana to prescription painkillers.

About 60 federal, county and local law enforcement officers descended on Ellenville and Wawarsing in the early morning. Nobody resisted arrest, and nobody was injured.

The 21 suspects are being held in Ulster County Jail.

Police were armed with 17 grand jury indictments and five local arrest warrants. A handful of those charged had already been incarcerated.

"These investigations are cumbersome," said Ellenville police Chief Phil Mattracion. "They are long-term investigations."

Those arrested face 96 felony and six misdemeanor charges in total, nearly all of which pertain to having or selling drugs.

Police seized drugs from many of those arrested, including nearly 300 bags of heroin and 2.5 ounces of crack from Garvey "Joker" Marmol, 27, of Ellenville. No weapons were seized during Friday's raid.

Carlos "Los" Medina, 28, of Ellenville, is an accused Blood, while Jose "Chops" Rodriguez, 30, of Ellenville, is an accused Crip. Erol Tuna, 28, of Ellenville, and Iris Serrano, 34, of Wawarsing, are accused of selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.

A 2007 raid resulted in the arrest of 17 suspected Bloods in Wawarsing and Rochester, while March's "Operation Clean Sweep" ended with 101 arrests in the Kingston area. Police said that 44 of those arrested in the Kingston raid were street gang members.

mnovinson@th-record.com

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