Published: October 03, 2008 11:55 pm      

CITY OF TONAWANDA: Couple charged with selling drugs with kids present

A City of Tonawanda couple face numerous charges for allegedly selling drugs from their Broad Street apartment — oftentimes while their two small children were present.

The two suspects were awakened at about 6:15 a.m. Friday when police and SWAT team members rammed in the door of the upper apartment at 481 Broad St. to serve a warrant they had obtained. Police arrested Richard A. Davidson, 37, and his live-in girlfriend, Keri L. Allen, 24.

“We had had complaints from residents concerned about the traffic around that area,” Tonawanda Detective Tim Toth said.

Police also developed information through a month-long investigation that Davidson was selling pot, cocaine and other controlled substances from the residence. City police sought the assistance of the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), which sent an undercover officer to the apartment to buy drugs on four separate occasions.

Davidson and Allen have an 11-month-old child and Allen has a 4-year-old from a previous relationship. “All of the sales took place in front of or while at least one of the children were there,” said Tonawanda Capt. John Ivancic.

An undercover officer first visited Davidson’s residence on Sept. 4 to buy two small bags of pot. Davidson and Allen were both present during that sale, as were both their children. The officer returned Sept. 16 and purchased $60 in marijuana, with the couple’s infant daughter home at the time. The undercover officer returned twice on Sept. 23 — once to buy $60 in pot and later that day to purchase two Oxycodone pills for $80.

The sales provided police enough evidence to apply for the warrant. Friday morning, the SWAT team and a half dozen members of the city police department executed the warrant and found numerous drugs throughout the apartment, including suspected hallucinogenic mushrooms in the refrigerator, chocolate covered marijuana in the freezer and several quantities of marijuana on an end table in the living room that were accessible even to a crawling child, police said.

Police also seized cash and located nearly a dozen harvested pot plants in the attic, where a marijuana growing operation was in place.

Davidson faces numerous drug charges, including criminal possession of a hallucinogen, second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal sale, all of which are felonies.

Allen was also charged with criminal possession of a hallucinogen and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Both have also been charged with multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Additional charges may be filed because police also seized what they suspect was LSD.

According to Tonawanda News records, Davidson was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana in June 2007 for allegedly being in possession of more than 25 grams of pot.

“Whether it’s a big fish or a small fish, the fact of the matter is, we got at least some drugs off the street today,” Toth said. He added it’s difficult to say how big of a player Davidson was in the local drug market. “The bottom line is, it’s another drug dealer that’s off the street.”

Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.