Two Brooklyn men are facing serious felony charges after Ithaca police say a late-night traffic stop on State Route 79 exploded into a major drug bust at a city home. Investigators report seizing about 1,410 grams, roughly 3.1 pounds, of crystal methamphetamine, along with three ounces of cocaine, scales, drug paraphernalia and U.S. currency.
Police identified the suspects as Adrain T. Golding and Joseph R. Robertson, both listed as Brooklyn residents. Ithaca Police say officers pulled their vehicle over at 12:51 a.m. on March 20 on State Route 79 near the Tompkins-Tioga county line, then executed a search warrant at a Morris Avenue residence. Investigators say they recovered the meth, cocaine and other evidence from both the car and the home, and that Golding was also wanted by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for a parole violation. The pair were arraigned and remanded to the Tompkins County Jail without bail, according to WBNG.
Local enforcement and recent raids
This latest case lands in the middle of a busy winter for local narcotics enforcement, as Ithaca police and state agencies continue joint crackdowns on suspected dealers. In late February, a GIVE (Gun-Involved Violence Elimination) operation in the city led to a traffic stop and the seizure of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, resulting in three arrests. That operation pulled in the Ithaca Police Department, New York State Parole, the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police, underscoring a sustained regional focus on drug trafficking, as reported by FingerLakes1.
Charges, penalties and next steps
Golding and Robertson were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second and third degrees and were arraigned and held without bail at the Tompkins County Jail, police said. Under New York law, possession of certain quantities of stimulants such as methamphetamine can bump a case to second-degree possession, a class A-II felony, while third-degree possession is a class B felony, with potential prison terms that depend on the number of counts and case specifics. The statutory thresholds and jury instructions are laid out by the New York State Legislature and the state courts; see the NYSenate and the N.Y. Courts for the statutes and jury instructions.
