Dover man arrested twice on same day

A Dover man was arrested twice on the same day last week, police said.

Police responded to the Home Depot Wednesday afternoon and were told Roberto Colon, 27, who was in a wheelchair, was sitting on a $79 power drill and tried to leave the store without paying for the item, according to Detective Sgt. Richard Gonzalez. Colon was arrested and during a search police found a hypodermic syringe on his person.

Colon was transported to headquarters and charged with shoplifting and possession of a hypodermic needle.

Later that day, another officer saw Colon on First Street. The officer saw Colon allegedly attempt to hide a hypodermic needle in his coat pocket. The officer retrieved the needle and attempted to arrest Colon, Gonzalez said. Colon began to leave in his wheelchair, ignoring multiple orders to stop.

Colon began to remove his clothing and then threw himself onto the ground, Gonzalez said. While he was doing this his father, Roberto Colon Sr. arrived, had a brief conversation in Spanish with his son and attempted to take his son's belongings, according to police, who warned him to stay back. Colon Sr. disregarded police, grabbed his son's clothes and ran off, Gonzalez said.

The officer caught Colon Sr. and discovered four bags of heroin and one bag of marijuana in the clothing, Gonzalez said.

Colon Sr., 50, of Dover, was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, hindering apprehension of another and obstructing the administration of law.

Colon Jr. was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a hypodermic needle, and obstructing the administration of law.

Two men charged with cooking meth behind gas station on US 30

Two men with Valparaiso addresses were arrested Saturday on a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine after the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said that they were cooking meth in an outdoor lab located behind the Admiral gas station at 208 E. Morthland Drive in Center Township.

According to police, at 4:49 p.m. officers were dispatched to the Admiral after a woman advised the clerk there that “two subjects in the parking lot were manufacturing crystal methamphetamine in the woods behind the business.” On their arrival, police said, officers made contact with Dinzel Miller, 57, of 653 Axe Ave., and Matthew B. Puskac, 27, of 1101 Evans Ave., Apt. 2C, both of whom “had dilated pupils and were overly fidgety and anxious.”

Both men were carrying “backpacks which appeared to be extremely full” and each permitted officers to search the backpacks for weapons, police said. Inside Miller’s an officer located “two packages of Walgreen’s brand allergy pills containing pseudoephedrine, a twin pack of instant cold packs, Coleman premium blend camping fuel, a large elastic band, Rooto drain cleaner, Drano, coffee filters, and a hypodermic needle inside of a plastic case,” police said.

“I recognized these items as those used in the production of methamphetamine,” the investigating officer stated in his report.

Inside Puskac’s backpack, police said: several sets of pliers and a short section of rubber tubing.

Miller was subsequently persuaded to lead the investigating officer to the lab—a tent “deep into the woods south of the Admiral filling station”—and then to reveal the location of manufactured methamphetamine: in a bottle placed in a plastic bag behind a log “and apparently intentionally covered with vegetation,” police said.

Both Miller and Puskac were charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, a Class B felony punishable by a term of six to 20 years, police said. Miller was also charged with possession of precursors, a Class D felony punishable by a term of six months to three years; and possession of a hypodermic needle, a Class D felony.

Miller and Puskac were medically cleared at Porter hospital, then transported to Porter County Jail.

The Indiana State Police’s Clandestine Methamphetamine Lab Team was dispatched to the scene to disassemble the lab, take possession of the hazardous chemicals, and place items of evidentiary value into custody, police said.

Pair face drug charges after stop on Thruway

Two people were arrested early Sunday morning on drug-related charges after a traffic stop on the Thruway.

State police stopped a car for traffic violations just before 2 a.m. The driver, 47-year-old Michael J. Rumrill of St. Andrews Drive in Clifton Park, allegedly had hypodermic needles. He was charged with a misdemeanor of criminally possessing a hypodermic instrument and released after being issued an appearance ticket.

The female passenger, 23-year-old Erica C. Melendez of Chrisler Avenue in Schenectady, allegedly had numerous small glassine envelopes containing heroin, according to police.

She was charged with the felonies of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Melendez was arraigned in Coeymans Town Court and remanded to the Albany County Jail on $25,000 bail. She is scheduled to appear again in court on Thursday.