| Home | About | Archives | RSS Feed |
Great Barrington Traffic Stop Uncovers 748 Bags of Heroin
 |
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — A traffic stop Tuesday morning on Main Street resulted in the arrest of a local man and the seizure of a large cache of drugs.
Officer Andres Huertas was on patrol when he noticed Ryan P. Babcock operating a vehicle operating on Main Street at about 10:30 a.m. He knew that Babcock's driver's license had been revoked.
Huertas stopped the vehicle in front of Town Hall; Officer James Bragdon assisted with the stop. Huertas advised
the 34-year-old Babcock that he was being placed under arrest.
During an inventory of the vehicle, Huertas discovered an "extremely large cache of narcotics." The car was impounded and taken to the police station, where a search warrant was obtained. Assisting Police Officers Christopher Peebles and Bradley Lupiani helped with the search, warrant process and the over-all arrest and investigation.
The inventory found 748 bags of heroin, several bags of cocaine, 18 bags of marijuana and several different prescription drugs. Babcock, of Park Street in Housatonic, was charged with the following:
- Possession of Class A with intent to distribute
- Possession of Class B with intent to distribute
- Possession of Class C
- Possession of Class D with intent to distribute
- Possession of Class E with intent to distribute
- Operation of a Motor Vehicle with a revoked license
Babcock was arraigned via a telephone conference call from a cell because courts are limited because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Judge William Rota held him without bail until a further hearing in Southern Berkshire District
Court on Thursday.
"This was an outstanding motor vehicle stop and arrest by Officer Huertas," said Chief William Walsh. "It removes a major player in the drug trade from circulation once again, noting Babcock's lengthy criminal record. That's a huge amount of heroin taken off the streets and all of the officers did a commendable job."
Also, on Wednesday, another driver was arrested on drug charges after she struck a utility pole on Park Street in Housatonic.
The report of the single motor vehicle accident was made about noontime and Officers Sam Stolzar and Kris Balestro responded.
Marla J. Monjardo, 51, of Housatonic, was northbound when she went off the road and struck the pole, two parked cars and a guard rail, according to the police report. There were no injuries.
Police say Monjardo was found to be in possession of six bags of heroin and a black-tar substance. She was arrested and charged with Possession of heroin Class A and released without bail for court at a later date. The accident remains under investigation.
