Suspected drug dealers agree to quit

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By Lauren Pack and Ryan Gauthier, Staff Writers Updated 1:18 AM Friday, November 20, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — Four young males have been offered the chance to redirect their lives and stay out of jail.

Two adults and two juveniles, identified by Middletown police as low-level drug dealers, are scheduled to meet today, Nov. 20, to commit to a new program aimed at attacking drug trafficking along Eighth Avenue in the city’s 2nd Ward.

Community Revitalization Director Doug Adkins said the four on Wednesday attended a call-in program as the first step in the Drug Market Intervention Program.

“They seemed receptive,” Adkins said. “I assured them that although we are not going to put up with any more crap, we were genuinely interested in helping them get out of this and succeeding in their lives.”

The four are slated to complete individual assessments to determine what sort of assistance they need to put their past behind them, whether it’s transportation, education or housing, Adkins said.

“The idea is to craft a plan to help each of these kids — if they’re strong enough — get away from the peer pressure and easy money,” he said.

Sgt. David Birk, narcotic unit supervisor, said the program requirements include staying away from Eighth Avenue, which has been pinpointed by police as a problem area for open-air drug dealing. They also will have to get a job and agree to participate in any assistance they may need, such as tutoring or drug and alcohol counseling, he said.

“If they don’t follow the program, we’ll file the charges on them,” Birk said, noting those charges include drug possession and trafficking.

Officers identified the four as candidates for the intervention program after an undercover operation.

Five other suspects also were part of the undercover operation, but because of their criminal record were not eligible. Police filed charges of trafficking in crack cocaine against Perry Hart, 44; Torre Jackson, 32; Leon Norman, 26; Ashley Everhart-Robinson, 19; and a 16-year-old.

As part of the city’s Drug Market Intervention Program, police hosted a community meeting Monday at the Middletown Community Center to discuss how to keep new drug dealers from filling in for the five now facing charges.

Also part of the effort are the city’s Community Revitalization Department, MALICHI Youth Opportunities, the Middletown NAACP, Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper and Katrina Wilson of Freedom Community Development Corp.

The juvenile is the only in custody as of Thursday. Anyone with information on the others may call police at (513) 425-7700.

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