Nearly two dozen people arrested following ‘high visibility’ detail in Holyoke

HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Nearly two dozen people have been arrested following an operation in Holyoke that police said is aimed at addressing the needs of the city and its residents.

“The people who are pushing this type of poison upon the streets, these are gang members, these are just drug pushers and with those types of crimes, firearms and violence itself always follow,” said Holyoke Police Captain Matthew Moriarty.

Capt. Matthew Moriarty said that Holyoke Police, in conjunction with Mass. State Police, have been performing a “high visibility detail” over the past week, whereby they patrol known high crime areas because of illegal narcotics sales and violence. He noted that an essential part of the patrols are checking stairways and hallways of problem properties.

“The past week since we’ve started our high visibility detail has been very busy for us,” said Captain Moriarty.

Through the detail, several arrests were made on charges including trespass, illegal firearms, illegal narcotics sales, and several arrest warrants. According to police, the trespassing charges are typically for those who are at known locations that are selling illegal drugs and those people who don’t live at those buildings.

“The persons arrested are provided information on gaining resources to aid in their addiction to illegal narcotics. These types of arrests will be followed up upon by our Narcotics Intervention Team,” Captain Moriarty explained.

Those arrested include:

• 16-year-old juvenile from Springfield - charged with possession of class A substance, possession of class A substance to distribute, possession of ammunition without a FID card, carry a loaded firearm without license to carry, possession of a firearm without a FID card, possession of a firearm during a felony, possession of a class B substance
• Stuart Chase, 30 years old, of Northampton - charged with trespass
• Eddie Rivera, 45 years old, of Springfield - charged with trespass
• Jeffery Spiller, 35 years old, of Easthampton - charged with trespass
• Alex Echevarria, 43 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass and a warrant
• Edwin Rio Coello, 36 years old, of Chicopee - charged with trespass
• Nicholas Boucher, 29 years old, of Windsor Locks, CT - charged with trespass
• Steven Charpentier, 52 years old, of Chicopee - charged with possession of a class B substance
• Jonathan Figueroa Perez, 29 years old, of Chicopee - charged with trespass and a warrant
• Louis Salina, 31 years old, of West Springfield - charged with trespass
• Kristen Hackett, 35 years old, of West Springfield - charged with trespass
• Douglas Cass, 32 years old, of Hawley - charged with trespass and two warrants
• Shana Ricko, 30 years old, of Chicopee - charged with trespass
• Miranda Jordan, 25 years old, of Chicopee - charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, possession of a class B substance, possession of a class B subtance to distribute, possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, and marked lanes violation
• Rosemary Reyes, 39 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass, possession of a class A substance, possession of a class B substance, possession to distribute a class A substance, and possession to distribute a class B substance
• William Melendez, 38 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass, possession of a class A substance, possession of a class B substance, possession to distribute a class A substance, possession to distribute a class B substance, and a warrant
• Louis Ocasio, 41 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass, possession of a class A substance, possession of a class B substance, possession to distribute a class A substance, and possession to distribute a class B substance
• Sylvester Ruderski, 62 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass
• Ted Ilnicky, 47 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass and possession of a class A substance
• Davian Benitez, 28 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass
• Jose Negron, 40 years old, of Springfield - charged with trespass and a warrant
• Kenneth Torres, 26 years old, of Holyoke - charged with trespass and possession to distribute a class B substance
• Luis Echevarria, 23 years old, of Easthampton - charged with trespass and possession to distribute a class A substance

“The people who are pushing this type of poison upon the streets, these are gang members, these are just drug pushers and with those types of crimes, firearms and violence itself always follow,” said Captain Moriarty.

Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said in a statement:

“I enthusiastically support and applaud this effort by our Holyoke Police and the State Police. High visibility details are producing impressive results. And I greatly appreciate the continued commitment of law enforcement to help those struggling with addiction by directing them to intervention services.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Holyoke Police at (413) 322-6900 or ‘Text-a-Tip’ to CRIMES (274637) and in the message, type SOLVE, your tip, and indicate it is for Holyoke.

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