Eleven people were arrested Thursday on charges of selling crack cocaine and guns in the Schenectady area.
The leader of the alleged crack trafficking ring has already spent seven of the past 14 years in prison on related charges and was arrested in 2007 on a parole violation for asking young teenagers to sell “weed” for him so he could avoid “the heat,” according to court records.
Nine of the arrested are Schenectady residents. All face federal felony charges and will be tried in federal court.
The arrests came after a joint investigation by national and local law enforcement, including the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and state National Guard Counter-Drug Task Force. On the local level, Schenectady police, the Albany County Sheriff’s Department and the Schenectady District Attorney’s Office joined the investigation. Even officials from the state Department of Corrections were involved.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Delano Reid said the partnership helped ensure the quick and nearly simultaneous arrests of so many people.
“While each of our partners brings their own specialized expertise to the table in cases such as this, it is only through an open and collaborative effort that we can achieve these impressive results,” he said in a statement.
The alleged leaders of the ring. Kareem Thompson, 32, and Assan Allah, 47, both of Schenectady, face up to life in prison on charges of conspiracy with intent to distribute crack cocaine.
Thompson was first sent to prison in 2001 for attempting to sell drugs. He was released on parole after two years but was arrested on the same charge just nine months later. After another stint in prison, he returned to Schenectady on parole and was arrested on charges of recruiting a 13-year-old and 14-year-old to sell drugs for him. He went back to prison for another year after that offense.
Others who were arrested have a history of similar charges, and several had been arrested in recent months on charges ranging from unlawful impersonation to choking someone.
Arrested on conspiracy charges were:
Kathlynne Marable, 28, of Albany
Charles McCormick, Jr., 21, of Schenectady
Autumn Saglimbeni, 29, of Schenectady
Richel Skokan, 38 of Schenectady
They all face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Arrested on charges of possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell were:
Darrel Irving-Anderson, 23, of Schenectady
Leryco Hayes, 44, of Schenectady
Barrington Mordaunt, 51, of Schenectady
Mordaunt faces up to life in prison if found guilty of three counts of possession of crack cocaine. The others face two counts of possession, which has a maximum sentence of 40 years.
Mordaunt also has a lengthy criminal history. He was caught selling cocaine at the Stewart’s Shop on Nott Street in 2003 and went to prison. He was released on parole in 2011.
Arrested on charges of conspiracy and possession of crack cocaine was Jayquan Tomer, 23, of Schenectady. He was one of the defendants arrested Jan. 5 on charges of menacing, imprisonment and criminal obstruction of breathing.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tomer went by the nickname “Killer.”
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Also arrested was Sharma Sukdeo of Long Island on charges of selling firearms without a license. He faces a maximum of five years in prison if found guilty.
With all 11 people in jail, FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Vale said in a statement that Schenectady neighborhoods are “safer now than they were just hours ago.”
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
