Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and Town of Montgomery Police Chief Arnold Amthor announced the arrest of Jay Pagan, 32, of Maybrook on Monday in connection with the overdose death Friday of the 24-year-old woman in the Town of Montgomery.
The woman was one of four people who died over the weekend including a 37-year-old woman from the Town of Monroe, a 30-year-old man from the Town of Goshen and a 28-year-old woman from the Town of Warwick, officials said.
Pagan was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal sale of a controlled substance and was arraigned in the Town of Montgomery Court on a felony complaint which alleges that he sold heroin to the deceased woman on Friday, the DA's office said.
The heroin sale is alleged to have occurred at Pagan’s residence. Pagan was remanded to Orange County Jail on $25,000 cash bail or $75,000 secured bond, Hoovler said.
“There were 88 suspected overdose fatalities in Orange County in 2017,” said Hoovler. “The opioid crises continues to claim far too many lives. This weekend alone there were four suspected overdose deaths in our county. I commend the Town of Montgomery Police Department for their investigation of this woman’s tragic death. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who peddle dangerous and frequently lethal narcotics."
Chief Arnold Amthor pointed residents to the department's Addiction Assistance Program. The program is designed to address the needs of any person who comes into the police station requesting help with their addiction, he said.
"Any person, who enters the police station and requests help with their addiction to opiates, or other drugs will be immediately assisted and screened for the program," the chief said. "If such a person who has requested help with their addiction is in possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia (needles, etc.), they will not be charged."
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Sgt. Farina at the Town of Montgomery Police Department at (845) 457-9211.
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