Marlene Sosa was accused of selling cocaine while working as a security guard at a homeless shelter in New York’s Dutchess County.
Sosa, resident of Poughkeepsie The 32-year-old was an employee of Hudson River Housing and was assigned to the Webster House homeless shelter, also known as The Pods. He was arrested Thursday on the spot by the Dutchess County Drug Task Force following a long investigation into the sale of cocaine at the shelter.
The shelter is located on the same property where the old county jail is located, he explained. Mid Hudson News. Sosa was charged with a serious crime for sale of a controlled substance and was detained at the county Sheriff’s Office, said a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
Detective Sergeant Adam Harris said his officers began an investigation in February after shelter residents warned that a security employee was selling dangerous drugs inside. “This prompted an immediate response from the Drug Task Force and an investigation due to the vulnerability of homeless community members”.
Harris said the investigation included undercover agents that they bought cocaine from Sosa at or near the shelter on multiple occasions.
“This investigation and arrest is a good example of the relationship our officers have with members of the community, including our local homeless population, where people feel comfortable coming forward with information about illegal activities,” Harris noted.
Sheriff Kirk Imperati confirmed that they had been receiving concerns from residents about drug activity for several months and that the drug task force followed up on leads and was able to make an arrest. Now “Residents north of Hamilton Street and the shelter can relax,” he said.
Christa Hines, director of Hudson River Housing, said they are “extremely disturbed and enraged by the allegations against our employee, Marlene Sosa. “This behavior is deplorable and a direct violation of expectations.” And she assured that “We thoroughly evaluate and train our staff to uphold the mission and values of the organization and we do not tolerate this flagrant violation of our code of conduct.”
All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
In a similar case, in December a former worker at a state residential facility for teenage girls on Long Island (NY) admitted to raping one of them several times after giving her marijuana edibles, prosecutors said.
2024-04-06 16:34:00
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