ELKTON — A joint-investigation by the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office and the Philadelphia Police Department led to the confiscation of suspect illegal drugs with a street value of nearly $100,000 and the arrests of three suspects — including a man who lives near Elkton, according to police.
Investigators arrested the last of the three suspects — Edward Hank Carlson Jr., 42, of the unit block of Circle Avenue in Elkton — early Thursday morning, according to Cecil County District Court records.
Police arrested the other two suspects — Sean Ray Harley Jr. and Anthony Jamal Montgomery, both 29, of Philadelphia — on Friday (Oct. 11), court records show.
In July, CCSO Det. Caleb Griffitts of the agency’s Street Level Crimes Unit initiated an investigation into Carlson’s “involvement in heroin/fentanyl distribution in Cecil County” and developed him as a suspect in an illegal operation that expanded beyond Maryland, police reported.
“During the investigation, Det. Griffitts identified Anthony Jamal Montgomery and Sean Ray Harley as Carlson’s source of supply for heroin/fentanyl. Further investigation revealed that both Montgomery and Harley reside in Philadelphia, Pa. Shortly thereafter, investigators from the Philadelphia Police Department Intense Drug Investigative Squad (IDIS) joined the investigation with the Street Level Crimes Unit into this drug trafficking organization,” outlined Lt. Michael Zack, a CCSO spokesman.
Griffitts secured a search warrant and on Oct. 9, after observing Harley and Montgomery arrive at Carlson’s dwelling on Circle Avenue, investigators with CCSO, the Cecil County Drug Task Force, Maryland State Police Strategic Operations Group and Homeland Security conducted court-approved searches of Harley, Montgomery, their vehicle and the “residence in question,” police reported.
Investigators seized 294 bags containing suspect heroin/fentanyl with a combined weight of 84 grams, which is slightly less than three ounces, and a street value of $2,500, police said. They also confiscated $2,360 in cash, police added.
Also part of the joint-investigation, Philadelphia Police Department officers obtained search warrants and raided four city locations that Harley and Montgomery allegedly used to “further their drug trafficking organization,” Zack reported.
Those court-approved searches resulted in the confiscation of 266 grams of suspect heroin/fentanyl, which translates to more than a half-pound; 761 bags holding the same suspect drug; 21 rounds of 9mm ammunition and “a drug ledger,” according to Zack, who further reported that the seized opiates had a street value of $95,244.
Carlson, Harley and Montgomery are each facing several drug-related charges, police reported. Montgomery is facing additional charges of second-degree assault and malicious destruction of property because he allegedly used his vehicle to ram a CCSO vehicle while attempting to flee during the raid near Elkton, causing minor damage to both vehicles but no injuries, police added.
The three suspects remained in the Cecil County Detention Center on no bond Thursday after their bail review hearings, court records show.
The investigation and operation leading to the arrests of Carlson, Harley and Montgomery were supported, in part, by the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network (MCIN), Zack noted.
The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (GOCPP) supplies grant funding and strategic assistance to MCIN member sites, he said. These resources enable the “identification, disruption, and dismantling of criminal organizations through enhanced inter-agency collaboration and data sharing, contributing to a safer Maryland for all,” Zack added.
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