A month-long investigation by Delaware County police into local drug traffic has led to the arrest of a Walton man on heroin-related charges. The suspect was a recent graduate of a "boot camp" drug treatment program to which he was sentenced after a previous felony conviction, police say.
Walton resident Matthew S. Parker, 36, was arrested last week on several felony charges, after he was allegedly found to be in possession of 293 bags of heroin, according to a Delaware County Sheriff’s Office press release.
On Thursday afternoon, Delaware County investigators and sheriff's deputies arrested Parker on a sealed grand jury indictment warrant charging him with three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.
Parker was indicted the morning of his arrest by a Delaware County grand jury, according to the press release, after a month-long investigation into heroin trafficking in Walton and Delhi.
Parker was also charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree with intent to sell, because at the time of Parker’s arrest, he was found to be in possession of 293 bags of heroin and “several hundred dollars of cash.”
Police said Parker was found holding public assistance benefit cards from the states of New York and Virginia.
Parker was arraigned in Delaware County Court on Thursday afternoon and was remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility without bail pending future court appearances.
This is not Parker’s first felony indictment. In 2012 he was convicted in Delaware County Court for criminal sale of a controlled substance and attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
After completing the Willard Drug Treatment Program, Parker was released from the New York State Department of Corrections in October of 2013.
Because Parker is now a potential second felony offender, if convicted, he faces four possible consecutive sentences of two to 12 years on each charge, according to the press release.
Below: Money and heroin seized from Matthew S. Parker by police. Photo courtesy of the Delaware County Sheriff's Office.
