Wednesday

October 6, 2009 - Arrest Hit Heroin Network Hard

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Medford police say a major blow has been dealt to the heroin trade locally after a multi-agency investigation led to the arrest of 22 suspected drug ringleaders Sunday morning in Jackson County.

"We cut off the head of the snake," said Medford Police Chief Randy Schoen.

Officers from the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and other local and state agencies seized about 2 pounds of high-grade, smokable heroin from 2101 Whittle Ave., Medford. That amount could have a potential street value of $90,000. Officers also found lesser amounts of the drug at other locations.

Schoen said that the outcome of the two-year investigation likely will cut the amount of heroin available on the street by more than half.

One of the alleged main distributors of heroin locally, Ismael Anaya-Acevedo, 27, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service at the Whittle address on federal conspiracy charges.

U.S. marshals arrested another suspect, Eliot Aden Delavirgen, 33, on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin. He also was charged with attempted assault, harassment, criminal mischief, endangerment and strangulation.

Both Anaya-Acevedo and Delavirgen are in federal custody without bail.

The pair appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke in Medford Monday. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges they were part of a criminal conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin and seeks forfeiture of proceeds from heroin trafficking and the property involved.

Detention hearings have been set Wednesday for Anaya-Acevedo, aka "Chivo," and Oct. 13 for Delavirgen, aka "Alex."

In Jackson County, 14 search warrants were issued as part of the investigation, 11 in Medford alone. At three locations — Whittle Avenue, the 5200 block of Pioneer Road near Phoenix and the 4600 block of Antelope Road in White City — SWAT teams were used.

Other suspects taken into custody throughout the county are charged with a variety of crimes, including possession of heroin, methamphetamine and methadone as well as sex abuse, endangering minors, manufacturing and distributing heroin within 1,000 feet of a school and parole violations.

Neighbors thought they heard gunshots when SWAT teams conducted the raids at about 6 a.m. at Whittle and Pioneer, but Schoen said they used a device that produces a flash and a loud bang. He said no shots were fired during the raids and no one was injured.

Schoen said that from the street, the Whittle house at the corner of Roberts Road, decorated for Halloween, looked normal, but after entering he said a trained police officer would notice something was amiss.

"Your nose would have told you that you were in a drug house," he said.

Heroin, long considered an intravenous drug, has become more accepted because the improved quality allows users to smoke it rather than inject it. The drug is considered highly addictive in either form.

Over the past year, local law-enforcement officers have noticed an uptick in heroin usage, thought it hasn't surpassed the popularity of methamphetamine or marijuana.

Cases in which heroin was found during an arrest more than doubled this year in Medford, from 26 in all of 2008 to 55 through Sept. 30 of this year.

"We're seeing more and more people using heroin, particularly young people," said Rita Sullivan, director of OnTrack Inc., a drug rehabilitation center.

Many heroin users start out taking prescription painkillers such as oxycodone or OxyContin. When their prescriptions run out, they sometimes turn to heroin, Sullivan said.

Younger people also are trying these prescription drugs out of the home medicine cabinet, Sullivan said.

A new law passed by the Legislature this year will allow for greater monitoring of prescriptions even if a person goes to different drugstores as a way to curb the rise in addiction. The law will start in January 2010.

Laws restricting the purchases of pseudoephedrine, used for allergies, have helped curtail the supply of methamphetamine in Oregon. As a result, methamphetamine is more difficult to get, and some people with strong addictive behaviors will turn to the most readily available drug. "Drug users sometimes say, 'We might seek what we like, but we will use what we can get,' " Sullivan said.

At OnTrack, the goal is to get people free of taking all drugs because of this addictive behavior, she said.

Evidence that heroin is more popular has come from law-enforcement agencies, the increased caseload at the county methadone clinic and more clients who seek help at OnTrack for heroin addiction, she said.

Dr. Jim Shames, county medical officer, said the methadone clinic in Medford had 50 clients about 20 years ago. When the clinic was turned over to a private company two years ago, there were about 200 patients. Today, there are about 425 patients, said Shames.

"We have certainly seen an upsurge in heroin use," said Shames. "After this bust we will certainly see a diminution in heroin use."

Methadone patients seek treatment for addiction to opiates, whether the opiates are prescription drugs or heroin.

Mark Huddleston, Jackson County district attorney, said the arrests came after a long, arduous investigation coordinating local, state and federal agencies.

He said he is confident there is enough evidence to support the charges levied against the suspects.

He said he couldn't speak specifically about suspects who have been in and out of the local jail, but hoped the federal charges being levied against some of them would mean more prison time if they're convicted.

Schoen said many residents in Medford might be aware of suspicious behavior but don't alert authorities.

"People have to have some responsibility for their neighborhood," he said. "They should not be tolerating this type of behavior."

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.