Recent drug bust was a positive step

The recent arrests of 25 people — many of them Elyria residents — on drug trafficking charges for selling opioids was a positive step toward cleaning up the streets.

On June 27, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a 59-count indictment against the defendants.

Federal officials said the defendants allegedly were selling illegal drugs including fentanyl, carfentanil, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and fentanyl analogues pressed to look like Percocet, a highrisk drug that can cause death when taken in high doses or when combined with other substances, especially alcohol.

Elyria police Chief Duane Whitely said the arrests June 27 were the culmination of nine months of work directed at attacking the drug trade in Elyria and surrounding areas.

Whitely said the Elyria Police Narcotics Unit started the investigation and partnered with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Cleveland Office and the Lorain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

This effort came about because of an excellent working relationship among all the Lorain County law enforcement agencies.

And Whitely vows the agencies will continue to work together to attack the illegal drug trade throughout Lorain County.

The community should be pleased with that spirit of cooperation.

There are times when residents make calls to police to report drug dealing in their neighborhoods.

But residents shouldn’t get discouraged if they don’t see the culprits apprehended right away.

Investigations take time, just as this one did.

In this latest sweep, law enforcement arrested: Troy Davis, 37; Reginald Jenkins, 40; Stephen Phares, 25; Deondre Vaughn, 35, of Cleveland; Jarell Davis, 29, of Cuyahoga Falls; Leon Lamont Washington, 42; Raymond Trenell Oliver, 43; Anthony Rodgers, 35, of Cleveland; Elonzo Davis, 44; Quadron Johnson, 31; William Solomon, 43; Malik Hobson, 38; Johnnie Lawrence, 38; Richard Fluker, 59; Troy Martin, 37, of Cleveland; Myron L. Pryor, 47, of Cleveland; Alvin Fennell, 48; Terrance Williams, 25; Aaron White, 22; Alkeem Fennell, 25; Cassandra Studebaker, 25; Courtney Warrens, 25; Tommie Richardson, 27; Arthur Solomon, 45,; and Mickey Tramaine Wright, 25.

According to the indictment that was unsealed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, Troy Davis traveled to South Carolina to buy pills laced with furanyl fentanyl and pressed to look like 30 mg Percocet pills from Jenkins.

Troy Davis brought the pills to Ohio, where he sold them to Phares and others.

Troy Davis also sold cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and various fentanyl analogues to other drug dealers and customers in the Elyria area.

Troy and Elonzo Davis, who are uncle and nephew, were supplied by Vaughn, Jarell Davis, Washington, Oliver and Rogers, the indictment says.

The Davises then resold the drugs to Lawrence, White, Pryor, Hobson and others.

The Davises and others used houses in Elyria to store and sell the drugs.

They also used numerous vehicles, including rental cars, as well as multiple pre-paid cellular telephones, to facilitate the shipment and sale of drugs, according to the indictment.

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said the defendants brought lots of deadly drugs into Elyria, including carfentanil and fentanyl.

Herdman said law enforcement worked together to dismantle this organization.

The Lorain County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program is comprised of the Sheriff’s Office Lorain County Drug Task Force, DEA, Ohio Adult Patrol Authority, Ohio State Highway Patrol, the police departments of Avon, Avon Lake, Amherst, Oberlin, Vermilion, Elyria and Lorain, the Lorain Prosecutor’s Office, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and U.S. Marshal Service.

Lorain County Sheriff Phil Stammitti also acknowledged that the cooperation of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies working together to share their resources, intelligence and manpower they can aggressively investigate drug trafficking organizations.

Lorain police Capt. Roger Watkins agreed saying his department has always been appreciative of the level of cooperation between the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in this area in combatting the drug issues that plague this community and others.

The drug dealers are preying on people. Greed is prevailing over life. Removing alleged drug dealers from the streets will help the community for a while.

Unfortunately, there will be others who see an opportunity to replace them.

It’s just a vicious and ugly cycle.