Major Drug and Gun Bust by Albany Police, 15 Arrested!

The Albany Police Department announced Friday afternoon that it had arrested upwards of fifteen people on a variety of charges in connection to the area of Madison Avenue and Grand Streets.

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This particular area of the city has been has been a hotbed of violence, drugs and quality of life issues for residents. Albany Police took action this week after a months long investigation following an uptick in crime and calls from members of the community.

During their investigation, officers recovered quantities of heroin, ecstasy and cocaine as well as one handgun.

Albany Police

Search and arrest warrants were issued and police began taking suspects into custody earlier this week. A total of 15 arrests were made, Albany Police released the names on their Facebook page:

• Flentino Best, 35, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd. He was arraigned and bail was set at $25,000.

• Wayne Cole, 36, of East Greenbush was charged with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 5th. He was arraigned and remanded to the county jail.
• Lamont Johnson, 39, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd. He was arraigned and bail was set at $15,000.
• Jason Longmire, 39, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd. He was arraigned and released to the supervision of probation.
• Derrick Carrington, 39, of Albany was charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 5th. He was arraigned and released to the supervision of probation.
• Willie Green, 39, of Albany was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 5th. He was arraigned and remanded to the county jail.
• Tasheem Inman, 28, of Albany was charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd. He was arraigned and remanded to the county jail.
• Tashrion Gaddy, 31, of Albany was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th. He was arraigned and released to the supervision of probation.
• Abram Jackson, 26, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.
• Nasir Abbot, 23, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal
Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 5th. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.
• Xavier Ortiz, 26, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 4th. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.
• James Murray, 47, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd. He was arraigned and remanded to the county jail.
• Brian Bailey, 45, of Albany was charged with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd and two counts of Criminal Use of Drug Paraphernalia 2nd. He was arraigned and remanded to the county jail.
• Rasheem Moore, 25, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.

• Andre Dolberry, 55, of Albany was charged with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd. He was arraigned and remanded to the county jail.

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These 7 Prisons Are The Most Violent In New York State

New York released a report with the most recent number of violent assaults on inmates in state prisons. There were 134 inmate deaths noted in the report, although it doesn't break down the prisons where each death occurred or who caused them. Here's a look at some of the general violent incidents reported for 2020, which is the most recent data reported by the state. Compared to 10 years ago, inmate assaults have almost doubled. In 2011 there were 666 and in 2020 there were 1,205 reported. These numbers do not include inmate assaults on staff members. Overall, the number of unusual incidents includes things like assaults, deaths, accidents, sexual misconduct, and disruptive behavior. According to the state,

"The number of unusual incidents has increased 132% from 5,980 in 2011 to 13,870 in 2020. These higher incident numbers were largely due to increases in assaults on incarcerated individuals (+81%), assaults on staff (+86%), contraband (+130%), disruptive behavior (+372%), and staff use of weapons (+1,035%)."

In 2020, 1,836 weapons used to cut or stab, including ice picks, razor blades, can lids and shanks were discovered in state prisons around New York.