15 arrested in drug sting - Chronicle-Telegram

ELYRIA — Fourteen drug investigations have been closed and 13 suspected drug dealers taken off the streets over four days in an operation that police have coined Street Sweeper 2013, the largest roundup of dealers and drugs by the Elyria Narcotics Unit since the division was resurrected earlier this year.
Officers have been quietly working several drug cases for weeks, but sprang into action shortly before sunrise on Thursday. They raided the home of Kristia Collins and Mitchell Krugman, who live at 144 Brunswick Drive, Apt. C, on the city's far west side. Both were charged with trafficking in drugs-heroin and other offenses.
Police Capt. Chris Costantino said the 15 arrests between Thursday and Monday were not all linked to one group, but shared one commonality that officers focused on. Two people — identified as Marvin Cannon and Carl Ra Smith — are still being sought by police.
"These were street-level dealers, but in the end were all involved in selling narcotics in Elyria," he said. "It didn't matter if they were not working together. I can't speak enough for the work that was done to bring everyone in. We have people in the unit that are dedicated to executing tasks and reaching goals. They are truly committed to what they are doing and that is to try to make Elyria better."
Heroin and cocaine are the primary drugs in Elyria and more than half of the 15 people who have been arrested allegedly were selling them.
The operation, in coordination with the Lorain Narcotics Unit and Lorain County Drug Task Force, has not been without risk.
Costantino said in the first raid two shotguns were seized — one within arm's reach of Krugman.
"The numbers speak for themselves," he said. "The unit is made up of one sergeant and five detectives, and since March they have made 187 drug and felony warrant arrests, executed 16 search warrants, taken 40 firearms off the streets, seized 10 vehicles and two motorcycles and taken $600,000 in drugs off the streets."
When the group was brought back after city finances caused the unit to be absorbed into the department's patrol division, Mayor Holly Brinda said their work would be essential in changing the quality of life in Elyria neighborhoods. The correlation between drugs and crime is too strong for change not to materialize with the unit back on the street.
"We see the drugs on the increase, so we have been out there talking to citizens and interviewing people," Costantino said. "We all have one focus, and it's because it affects all of our community."
He said he believes 90 percent of the burglaries investigated in the city are linked to drugs. The same can said for the majority of the armed robberies.
"They are done by people who either have an addiction to drugs or are trying to finance drug operations," he said. "By arresting the people who have been on our streets selling heroin and cocaine, we are sending a message.
"Now it will be up to the courts to send the stronger message that this type of conduct will not be tolerated in our community."
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121
or lroberson@chroniclet.com.