Police: Two Busted With 12 Grams of Heroin in North End Alley

The following police reports come from the Middletown Police public information officer. Individuals named here reflect charges filed, never a conviction.

Two men from Deep River and East Haddam are facing narcotics possession charges after Middletown Police say they witnessed them preparing to shoot up heroin in a North End alley.

This alley and parking lot, police say, which is near the Green Street Arts Center, is known by officers as a place where narcotics arrests and related complaints have been made by citizens for a long period of time.

On Oct. 17 at 7:10 p.m., police patrolling the area of Main and Ferry streets saw a Jeep pull into a Ferry Street alley near the Wharfside Commons apartment complex and back into a parking stall meant for residents of the building only, according to the report. 

The detective saw the driver, Donnie Velez, 24, of Bashan Road, East Haddam, who was inside with a passenger, Dana Warner, 53, of Cedar Lake Road, Deep River, leave the car then return. 

When a detective used his flashlight to illuminate the Jeep's interior, he saw Warner holding a syringe and flicking it with his fingers and heard him say, "Oh, [expletive]." 

The detective saw Velez holding folded pieces of wax paper, identified himself, the report says, and then found 23 pieces of heroin packaging in the car and five more in Warner's wallet. Additional police units arrived on scene, the report says.

A search revealed a paper bag with seven syringes inside. All told, 5.2 grams of heroin in 28 tiny wax-paper folds were discovered in Warner's possession, the report indicates, and 6.8 grams of heroin in 33 wax packages on Velez.

Both men were charged with use of drug paraphernalia, possession of narcotics, second offense; and non-student possession drugs near a school.