Warrant Details Drug Investigation At Derby Market

DERBY A corner store on Hawkins Street raided by police last month was a one-stop shop for heroin, crack, and marijuana, according to a search warrant from police.

Two people arrested after the raid who police said sold drugs out of the store pleaded not guilty and have been released on written promises to appear in court.

The store has since closed, and the building’s owner says she’s looking for a new tenant for the space.

The raid occurred Aug. 20, after a month-long investigation by Derby police with help from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to a search warrant written by Officers Stephanie Kowalec and Joe Massetti, Derby police began the probe after receiving numerous complaints from concerned citizens about illegal drug activity at the Hawkins Corner Store.”

The store is at the corner of Hawkins and 7th streets.

The warrant says police received information saying it was easy to go to into the Hawkins Street store and buy drugs.

Another person identified as a source of information” corroborated the accounts police were receiving.

The source of information stated that people from working behind the counter sell heroin, marijuana, and crack cocaine,” the warrant said. 

Another informant told Derby cops that a man known by police as William JJ” McKnight was selling drugs out of the store.

The warrant said that during the week of July 29, controlled buys landed cops more than an ounce of crack cocaine from McKnight in the store as undercover police watched from outside the business.

Police obtained a search warrant for the business and, with help from the DEA and a police dog from Orange, served the warrant at the store Aug. 20.

Seized during the search warrant was .6 grams of heroin, 3.8 grams of crack cocaine, 13 grams of marijuana, controlled prescription pills, packaging materials, and prescription narcotics,” police said at the time.

The drugs were sent to the state police lab for testing, according to court records.

After the raid, cops arrested McKnight, 47, and 37-year-old Keisha Nesmith, who police said were selling drugs out of the store while working there.

McKnight is charged with possession of crack cocaine, possession with intent to sell crack-cocaine, possession of crack cocaine within a school zone, possession of marijuana, possession with intent to sell marijuana, and possession of marijuana within a school zone. 

Nesmith was charged with possession of crack cocaine, possession with intent to sell crack cocaine, possession of crack cocaine within a school zone, possession of heroin, possession with intent to sell heroin, possession of heroin within a school zone, failure to keep narcotics in original container, and possession of schedule 2 oxycodone.

According to court records, McKnight and Nesmith have been released on written promises to appear in court Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, respectively.

McKnight’s lawyer, Isidro Rueda, declined to comment on the case because he said he had not yet reviewed the file with his client.

Nesmith’s lawyer, Michael Boynton, said he had been appointed as a special public defender in the case this week, declining to comment further.

Meanwhile, the building’s owner, Maureen Monaco, is hoping a new tenant can return the location to being a popular market for neighborhood residents.

After last month’s raid, Monaco said the tenant who was running the store agreed to vacate the property.

She said she gutted the store and put $60,000 in renovations into it after the prior tenant, Mr. D’s, closed.

But the next tenant in the store couldn’t commit as much time to the business as she had hoped.

It was not the kind of establishment I had hoped for,” Monaco said.

Monaco and her husband bought the property in 1993 from Eugene Cappy” Capodagli, who ran a popular market there. The location was also once home to Font’s Market.

Monaco said the store has been cleaned out once more and hopes a new tenant will be able to turn the location into a vibrant business once again.

Hopefully I’ll find the right person,” she said.

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