By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
An Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department drug initiative this week netted six people on various felony drug charges, deputies said.
Two were apprehended in Conneaut and the balance in Ashtabula over a two-day period, said Lt. Van Robison, of the sheriff’s department’s detective bureau.
Arrested in Conneaut were:
n Chester Arcaro III, 23, 146 Hayward Ave. (upstairs), charged with possession of heroin, aggravated trafficking in drugs and illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs; and
n Valerie Todd, 31, 425 Beaver St., charged with illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs and possession of drug-abuse instruments.
Arrested in Ashtabula were:
n Jason Carmody, 36, 218 Locust Drive, Conneaut, charged with possession of methamphetamines;
n Kristy Silvola, 33, 3513 Lake Ave., charged with illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs and possession of drugs;
n Kimberly Steinhoff, 32, 3513 Lake Ave., charged with illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs and possession of meth; and
n David Sayre, 3513 Lake Ave., charged with illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, as well as possession of meth.
Deputies served a search warrant at the Lake Avenue address Thursday with the help of Ashtabula city detectives, Robison said. The Ashtabula suspects were arraigned Friday afternoon in Ashtabula Municipal Court. Preliminary hearings will be scheduled.
Hearings for Arcaro and Todd will be held Tuesday in Conneaut Municipal Court.
The sheriff’s department uses special grant money for meth enforcement work, Robison said.
“The bureau allocates a specific time each month for meth investigations,” he said.
It’s believed some of the defendants were acquainted, Robison said.
“These people have been on our radar for a while,” he said.
Meth-related crime had slowed in recent months but is starting to pick up with the arrival of warm weather, Robison said. Summer weather allows meth-making labs to be set up in vehicles or outdoors, he said.
