Early a.m. raids a common police tactic

GOSHEN – The helicopters woke up quite a few people in Warwick and other parts of southern Orange County around 5 a.m. Thursday morning.

By early afternoon, the word was out: Police had rounded up 18 suspects, 17 of them in Orange and Sullivan counties and one in Vernon, N.J., in what officials described as a cocaine distribution network that operated through Orange and neighboring counties.

The arrests followed a seven-month investigation by the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Sussex County, N.J., Prosecutor’s Office. While the tactics of simultaneous no-knock search warrants executed before sunrise at multiple locations may have been startling in Warwick and Pine Island and other relatively bucolic locales, they are tried-and-true police strategies.

At the arraignments that afternoon in Warwick Town Court, the defendants’ clothes and tired faces told a tale of interrupted sleep. Several of the men wore pajama pants –one with $100 bills printed all over them; one with license plates; one that appeared to be camouflage. Some wore sweatpants or shorts. Few had lawyers. Family members in the gallery seemed stunned.

As they waited for the judge, one man asked the assistant district attorney a question, adding that he was worried about his 14-year-old daughter, who was now home alone. One of the women appeared to be ill. She was allowed to sit for her arraignment, and after the judge noted that the woman was “freezing,” a court clerk reduced the air conditioner level. When her case was done, she was taken away via ambulance for a medical checkup.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said he could not comment on the details of Thursday’s operation, but he spoke in general about police raid strategies.

“Five o’clock in the morning is an opportune time to conduct a raid, as most people, legitimately or illegitimately employed, are not conducting business at that time,” he said.

In general,” he said, “in any situation where there is the potential for the destruction of evidence or the potential threat of violence, you always want surprise to be on your side. It’s standard safety measures used in policing.”

Police often use no-knock warrants – which allow them to enter a home or other building without announcing their presence – in cases where drugs, weapons or both may be present, he said.

Although Hoovler spoke in general terms, it’s worth noting that police seized a fairly large number of long guns and some cocaine from various homes on Thursday.

The helicopters are commonly used, too, and serve a couple of purposes, Hoovler said: If someone is injured – police or suspect – they can be taken quickly to a hospital; and if someone runs, the chopper can help spot and track them.

No one ran on Thursday morning.

hyakin@th-record.com