10 Charged with Drug Dealing in City of Peekskill
Federal charges were brought against 10 defendants last week for distributing large quantities of crack cocaine in the City of Peekskill.
Complaints were unsealed in White Plains federal court on April 7 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Peekskill Police Department and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York for offenses committed in 2015 and 2016.
“With the federal charges brought today we have taken a big step in neutralizing two different drug rings that have been peddling drugs for years in the City of Peekskill,” said Preet Bharara, Manhattan U.S. Attorney.
“The message is clear: deal drugs in Peekskill and we will continue to pursue you with all of our resources,” said Peekskill Police Chief Eric Johansen. “This community will not tolerate drug dealing and we thank our federal and county partners in law enforcement for supporting our efforts to remove these 10 violent, career drug offenders from our streets.”
In one of the complaints, Eric Bolton, 25, Derrick “Skills” Franks, 47, Edward Reeves, 21, William Bolton, 27, Franklin “Nitty” Barber, 35, and Xavier “X” Dabbs, 26, were accused of conspiring to sell 28 grams or more of crack cocaine in and around Peekskill. They also allegedly cut up and packaged the crack for resale in Peekskill.
In the second complaint, Kaihiem “Killa” Taylor, 30, Jerome “Popsie” Reed, 27, Deshawn “Scrap” Smalls, 24, and Nathaniel “Happy” Graham, 36, were accused of conspiring to sell 28 grams or more of crack cocaine in and around Peekskill.
Five of the defendants were taken into federal custody last Thursday. Taylor, Bolton and Graham are already in state custody, while Barber and Reed remain at large.
“Although today’s actions have halted a conspiracy to distribute highly addictive drugs in the Peekskill area, there are many steps to be taken in ridding society of crimes of this nature,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez.
If convicted, the defendants could face from five to 40 years in prison.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
