CRIME Niles unit arrests 2 on drug charges

A 15-year-old girl could also face charges.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Two more Trumbull County men are facing drug charges after the Niles Narcotics Unit made more arrests this week.
Dennis Floyd, 48, of Nash Street, Niles, and Antonio M. Peterman, 19, of Deforest Road Southeast, Warren, are each charged with one felony count of trafficking in drugs. The men were arrested Monday in separate cases.
Reports state undercover narcotics officers bought suspected crack cocaine from Peterman, and that Floyd offered to sell crack cocaine to agents.
A 15-year-old Niles girl who was with Peterman could also face charges, once the case is reviewed by the county's juvenile prosecutor, police said.
The men were arraigned in Niles Municipal Court on Tuesday; Floyd remains in the Niles city jail, and Peterman is free on bond.
Ongoing drug probes
The arrests are the latest in ongoing drug investigations by the unit. Seven people were arrested on secret indictments last week on various drug trafficking charges, including heroin, marijuana and powder and crack cocaine. Those arrests followed an 18-month joint investigation by the narcotics unit, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Boardman office of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
Niles Police Capt. Charles Wilson said officers in the narcotics unit, which was created earlier this year, have enhanced the work previously handled only by the detective's unit.
"Fighting drugs has always been important to this department," Wilson said. "We've always had great cooperation from residents who call us with information, but with other investigations we've haven't always had the time or resources we could really dedicate to these crimes."
Now, he said, narcotics officers work full time identifying and targeting sources of illegal drugs through drug buys, surveillance and assistance from residents.
Wilson added that while the latest arrests were not a result of the 18-month investigation, they "are all connected, somehow."
One investigation may open leads to a new suspect, or surveillance of one drug buy may lead officers in another directions for more drugs and suspects, he said.
But, he said, the most valuable resource is information from citizens.
"They are really a big help in these cases," he said.
Anyone with information on drug activity can contact the Niles Narcotics Unit at (330) 652-9944.
slshaulis@vindy.com