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The search took place in Middlesex County around 7:40 p.m., Wednesday, June 15 in the town of Portland at the Ruthless 4 Life motorcycle gang clubhouse.
The raid, conducted by the Connecticut State Police and numerous other agencies, was initiated because of numerous complaints made by members of the public regarding large gatherings at the location where open drug and alcohol use was causing significant quality of life issues for the community, state police said.
Of note, the use of an adjoining Little League baseball field was impacted, sometimes resulting in canceled games and practices due to the illicit activity in the immediate vicinity, state police said.
The investigation found that Ruthless 4 Life was utilizing their Portland charter clubhouse to facilitate the sale of controlled substances, police added.
It was also determined that numerous dealers, some traveling in from out of state, would rent space in the clubhouse to sell large quantities of controlled substances. These events occurred weekly, and the nearby community was significantly impacted by the activity, the department said.
The search warrant was executed while one of the events in question was occurring. At the time of the warrant execution, approximately 90 people were present and police were able to safely detain all parties without incident.
The operation resulted in the following seizures:
- $51,470 in cash
- 118 pounds of marijuana
- 8.5 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms
- Several thousand grams of THC-based products
- Several thousand hallucinogenic-based products
- Two illegally possessed firearms
The following people were arrested at the scene:
- Shane M. Adams, age 46, of Middletown, was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and released on bond.
- Jonathan Alexander, age 33, of Ludlow, Massachusetts was charged with possession with intent to sell hallucinogenic, sale of hallucinogenic, and possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis. He was released on bond.
- David A. Burt, age 31, of Wallingford was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond.
- Stephen Carkin, age 35, of Foxboro, Massachusetts was charged with possession with intent to sell hallucinogenic, sale of hallucinogenic, and possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and was released on bond.
- Tessa Cote, age 27, of Ludlow, Massachusetts was charged with possession with intent to sell hallucinogenic, sale of hallucinogenic, and possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and was released on bond.
- Tessie Deschaine, age 42, of Terryville was charged with possession with intent to sell cannabis/cannabis products and was released on bond.
- Michael Gambardella, age 33, of West Haven was charged with possession with intent to sell hallucinogenic, sale of hallucinogenic, and possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and was released on bond.
- Sherry L. Geisler, age 47, of Springfield, Massachusetts was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond.
- John Grillo, age 59, of Quincy, Massachusetts was charged with possession with intent to sell hallucinogenics and was released on bond.
- Jian Guo, age 33, of Maspeth, New York was charged with possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and was released on bond.
- Holloman-Ellis, Ian-Isaiah, age 27, of Middletown was charged with possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis.
- Kody Kellry, age 25, of Simsbury was charged with two counts of illegal sale of a controlled substance, illegal sale of cannabis, and conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond.
- Erica Kruieger, age 47, of Plainville was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond.
- Kevin J. Malley, age 58, of East Hampton was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond.
- William T. Maynard, age 51, of East Hampton was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond.
- Kevin O’Malley, age 50, of Newington was charged with two counts of illegal sale of a controlled substance, and illegal sale of cannabis, and was released on bond.
- Rory Hyde, age 37, of Wesley Chapel, Florida was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell, conspiracy to sell hallucinogenic, possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis, two counts of possession of a pistol without a permit, and two counts of weapons in a motor vehicle and was released on bond.
- Rashann Rankins, 48, of Rocky Hill was charged with possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and was released on bond.
- Victor Rook, age 38, of Wallingford was charged with possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and possession with intent to sell hallucinogenic and was released on bond.
- Christopher Ronnow, age 25, of Bridgeport was charged with possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and was released on bond.
- Abigail Trifono, age 30, of Plainville was charged with illegal sale of a controlled substance and illegal sale of hallucinogenic and was released on bond.
- Jose M. Velez, age 57, of North Haven was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond.
- David Viengngeune, age 40, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island was charged with two counts of illegal sale of a controlled substance and was released on bond.
- Tiffany Wagher, age 38, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts was charged with possession with intent to sell hallucinogenic and possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis and was released on bond.
- Aaron Weiss, age 57 of East Hartford was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and was released on bond., the following individuals were arrested:
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