MIDDLETOWN – Law enforcement, members of the Safe Streets Task Force, conducted early morning raids and made arrests on suspected Bloods gang members and drug dealers in the Middletown/Town of Wallkill area. They operated as the “Middletown Organization,” which obtained heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine from suppliers in the Bronx and elsewhere, and bringing it to Middletown for distribution.

Most of the raids occurred before dawn.

A total of 33 people have been named in a federal indictment that was unsealed Thursday. According to the court document, core members routinely brought narcotics to a location that the Middletown Organization members referred to as the “Sneaker Store.” That was used to distribute the drugs, including to another point called the “Studio.” Those locations were moved from time to time to avoid detection by law enforcement.

The indictment alleges that the Middletown Organization maintained firearms for use by members at both locations to protect their narcotics proceeds.

The allegations against the 33 defendants covered the period of from January 2010 through or about February 2012.

Local, state and Orange County Sheriff’s officers were involved. This is the latest in Safe Streets Task Force raids in Orange County. On at least two occasions, law enforcement arrested large numbers of gang members of a number of violent and drug crimes in Newburgh.

Thursday’s were not conducted in that city.

Middletown Police Chief Ramon Bethencourt said that Mayor Joseph DeStefano and he are “confident that this investigation will lead to a reduction in crime and make Middletown a better, safer place to live.”

District Attorney Frank Phillips said gang members arrested “use violence to terrorize the community while engaging in the drug trade.” He criticized the state’ so-called drug law reform, saying it has “essentially eliminated the ability of police and prosecutors to dismantle these criminal enterprises, and the federal commitment has helped tremendously to reduce the level of drug gang violence.”

Sheriff Carl DuBois said his Gang Intelligence Unit compiles and shares information with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, as “a critical component in past, present and future enforcement efforts.”

Those named in the indicted are:
• Quiane Williams, also known as Splash and S-dot;
• Curtis Mack, also known as KB, K, Meech, and Meeks;
• Stephone Herring, also known as Esco and Frank;
• Wilfredo Gonzalez, also known as Will’
• Michael Giles, also known as Slick;
• Anthony Webb, also known as Slick;
• Antoine Webb, also known as Twan, Capo and Tall;
• Kevin Williams, also known as Fats;
• Henry Brinson, also known as Hen Roc;
• Maurice Colon, also known as Flirt;
• Rasun King, also known as Green Eyes;
• Hector Batista, also known as Hec;
• Jeremy Scott Allen, also known as Tampa;
• Christopher Anderson, also known as B.O., Bobby and bobby Drama;
• Victor Burns, also known as V-12;
• Loren Dwyer, also known as L Burna;
• Tayshawn Fields, also known as Breeze;
• Raven Fuentes;
• Matthew Garcia, also known as Pink and Pinky;
• Victor Gonzalez, also known as Vex;
• Zakiyyah Houlker, also known as Z; Bruck Jackson, also known as Finesse and Ness;
• Jerome Jackson, also known as Rome;
• Duane Kirby, also known as Montana, Tana, Ace and Eddie;
• Luis Lima, also known as Ghost;
• Joshua Martin, also known as Jizzy;
• Daniel Mischiyev, also known as Russia;
• Kenneth Ortiz, also known as Kenny and KO;
• Jacqueline Ricci, also known as Jackie;
• Jorge Serrano, also known as Bahno;
• Jeffrey Spangenburg, also known as Spongebob and Spongy;
• Claudis Wilson, also known as Dip;
• Michael Wright.

Senator Charles Schumer said arrests like these “are proof positive that this task force is absolutely essential for public safety in Orange County, and that the people who serve on this team are true heroes who put the people they serve above their own well-being.”