Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta, announced that Vinny Hannon, 27, of Middletown, and Amanda Brown, 33, of Middletown were arrested and charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and related charges. Because Hannon was on probation for a prior drug case, when he was arraigned, he was remanded to the Orange County Jail in lieu of bail. Because the charges are otherwise not bail eligible, Brown was released on her own recognizance.
In 2019, “bail reform” legislation was enacted that severely limits the courts’ ability to set bail for offenses involving narcotics sales. In narcotics sweeps in Orange County prior to the legislation, some bail was set by the court for almost all defendants charged with selling narcotics or possessing narcotics with the intent to sell them.
As alleged in charging documents filed and comments made in court, on June 7, 2023 police officers executed a judicially authorized search warrant at a residence in Middletown. During the execution of the search warrant, the police recovered approximately 900 bags of fentanyl (with an approximate street value of $13,500), various amounts of Oxycodone, Alprazolam and Clonazepam pills, and $18,443 in US currency. The search warrant was the culmination of a four-month multi-agency investigation into narcotics trafficking in the area.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Orange County Drug Task Force, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation which led to the arrests of Hannon and Brown. Hoovler also thanked the Orange County Sheriff’s Special Operation Group, the City of Middletown Police Department, and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center for their assistance during the investigation.
“Fentanyl is a deadly scourge that is being peddled by nefarious dealers in our community,” said Hoovler. “It is one of the great responsibilities of law enforcement, including police and prosecutors, to identify these drug dealers, arrest them and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. We owe it to those among us who are fighting the battle with addiction to interrupt the supply of this deadly poison. I applaud the dedicated and often dangerous work done by law enforcement in order to make sure these offenders are held accountable.”
"900 bags of fentanyl, that is thousands of lives that could have been destroyed and lives we could have lost," said Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta. “900 chances for this to fall into the hands of our children. The negative possibilities of what could have happened with 900 bags of fentanyl are terrifying. We will continue to fight this drug epidemic. This is a battle we are committed to investing the best resources into because it matters on every level, from those affected and struggling with addiction to our first responders dealing with it on the frontline and everyone in between; this is our community".
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Janine Kovacs.