Norwich police investigator takes stand in Victor trial
NORWICH – Norwich City Police Investigator Michael Purdy will resume testimony this morning, his third day on the witness stand in the case against accused drug dealer Michael A. Victor Jr.
Purdy, a 13-year veteran of the city police force, now a narcotics investigator, was the first witness called by the prosecution when the trial began Wednesday.
Under direct examination by District Attorney Joseph McBride, Purdy described first the three-month investigation which led to the March 27, 2009 raid on 31 Hickock Ave. in Norwich in which Victor was arrested; then the raid itself and the evidence collected both there and from a storage unit which was subsequently searched on April 3, 2009.
According to the law enforcement officer, he and other investigators first became aware of the drug operation in early January of that year.
“I received information through a reliable source that Curissa Jenkins was selling narcotics,” Purdy said, including cocaine and heroin. Over the course of the following two months, they established surveillance of Jenkins and other individuals they believed to be involved, the vehicles they drove and those coming and going from Jenkins’ residence. Purdy said two black males were seen frequenting the premises, but their identities were not established until later in the investigation.
Nine controlled buys of narcotics were made during that time, between January and March. Purdy testified that three of those buys involved confidential informants kept under observation and using pre-recorded currency. The others were made using an undercover police officer. On eight of those occasions, he said, the drugs were purchased from Jenkins. The other buy was made through a woman named Cassie Brooks.
Subsequent to these buys, a search warrant was obtained for both the Hickock Ave. apartment and a second apartment at 72 Plymouth St. Purdy said that, because of information obtained by the police indicating that weapons would be present, it was decided a “tactical” or “dynamic” entry was necessary. And at 6:54 a.m. on March 27, entry teams led by the Norwich City Police stormed both apartments. Assisting them were the New York State Police’s Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office and the Village of Greene Police Department’s K-9 unit.
Purdy said he entered the Hickock Ave. apartment after the entry team gave the “all clear,” 2 to 5 minutes after the warrant was executed. He described the layout of the residence and what he found upon his arrival.
“When I arrived, Mr. Victor and Curissa were in custody toward the rear entrance, sitting on the floor in the kitchen area,” he reported.
According to Purdy, a loaded 12-gauge shot gun was seized, as well as approximately $2,600 in U.S. currency and 3.15 grams of cocaine.
The weapon was discovered propped in the corner of the apartment’s master bedroom, on the left side of bed. Hanging on the bedpost on the same side of the bed were a pair of men’s H&M jeans and a size 50 Pelle-Pelle brand leather jacket, Purdy said. The cocaine, as well as some of the cash, was found in the pockets of the jeans, the investigator reported, and an identification card bearing Michael Victor’s name was found in the pocket of the jacket.
More cash was found inside a pillow case, between the mattress and box spring and stuffed inside a men’s sneaker, according to Purdy. Car keys, cell phones and mail addressed to Jenkins and Victor were also discovered inside the home. A Pontiac Grand Prix and a black Mercedes Benz were located in a rear parking area behind the residence. Purdy said $9,002 was found inside the center console of the Mercedes Benz.
McBride asked Purdy to identify photographs of the scene and evidence collected there, each of which was entered as people’s exhibits.
Next, the district attorney walked the investigator through the search of a storage unit located in the Town of Norwich, where police executed a second search warrant on April 3, 2009. Purdy described a silver Mercedes Benz found inside the unit. In its trunk, he said, was a green nylon Eddie Bauer backpack containing three bags of cocaine with an aggregate weight of 299 grams; three loaded firearms, two with defaced serial numbers; ammunition; and a number of digital scales with white powder residue.
According to Purdy, the evidence at each of the scenes was documented at the scene and then secured at the Norwich City Police Station. Some of it was sent to the New York State Police Crime Lab for further analysis.
McBride finished his direct examination of Purdy Thursday afternoon, after which Defense Attorney F. Paul Battisti began his cross-examination. Details of that cross-examination will be included in a subsequent article about the trial, which was set to resume Friday at 9:30 a.m.
Purdy, a 13-year veteran of the city police force, now a narcotics investigator, was the first witness called by the prosecution when the trial began Wednesday.
Under direct examination by District Attorney Joseph McBride, Purdy described first the three-month investigation which led to the March 27, 2009 raid on 31 Hickock Ave. in Norwich in which Victor was arrested; then the raid itself and the evidence collected both there and from a storage unit which was subsequently searched on April 3, 2009.
According to the law enforcement officer, he and other investigators first became aware of the drug operation in early January of that year.
“I received information through a reliable source that Curissa Jenkins was selling narcotics,” Purdy said, including cocaine and heroin. Over the course of the following two months, they established surveillance of Jenkins and other individuals they believed to be involved, the vehicles they drove and those coming and going from Jenkins’ residence. Purdy said two black males were seen frequenting the premises, but their identities were not established until later in the investigation.
Nine controlled buys of narcotics were made during that time, between January and March. Purdy testified that three of those buys involved confidential informants kept under observation and using pre-recorded currency. The others were made using an undercover police officer. On eight of those occasions, he said, the drugs were purchased from Jenkins. The other buy was made through a woman named Cassie Brooks.
Subsequent to these buys, a search warrant was obtained for both the Hickock Ave. apartment and a second apartment at 72 Plymouth St. Purdy said that, because of information obtained by the police indicating that weapons would be present, it was decided a “tactical” or “dynamic” entry was necessary. And at 6:54 a.m. on March 27, entry teams led by the Norwich City Police stormed both apartments. Assisting them were the New York State Police’s Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office and the Village of Greene Police Department’s K-9 unit.
Purdy said he entered the Hickock Ave. apartment after the entry team gave the “all clear,” 2 to 5 minutes after the warrant was executed. He described the layout of the residence and what he found upon his arrival.
“When I arrived, Mr. Victor and Curissa were in custody toward the rear entrance, sitting on the floor in the kitchen area,” he reported.
According to Purdy, a loaded 12-gauge shot gun was seized, as well as approximately $2,600 in U.S. currency and 3.15 grams of cocaine.
The weapon was discovered propped in the corner of the apartment’s master bedroom, on the left side of bed. Hanging on the bedpost on the same side of the bed were a pair of men’s H&M jeans and a size 50 Pelle-Pelle brand leather jacket, Purdy said. The cocaine, as well as some of the cash, was found in the pockets of the jeans, the investigator reported, and an identification card bearing Michael Victor’s name was found in the pocket of the jacket.
More cash was found inside a pillow case, between the mattress and box spring and stuffed inside a men’s sneaker, according to Purdy. Car keys, cell phones and mail addressed to Jenkins and Victor were also discovered inside the home. A Pontiac Grand Prix and a black Mercedes Benz were located in a rear parking area behind the residence. Purdy said $9,002 was found inside the center console of the Mercedes Benz.
McBride asked Purdy to identify photographs of the scene and evidence collected there, each of which was entered as people’s exhibits.
Next, the district attorney walked the investigator through the search of a storage unit located in the Town of Norwich, where police executed a second search warrant on April 3, 2009. Purdy described a silver Mercedes Benz found inside the unit. In its trunk, he said, was a green nylon Eddie Bauer backpack containing three bags of cocaine with an aggregate weight of 299 grams; three loaded firearms, two with defaced serial numbers; ammunition; and a number of digital scales with white powder residue.
According to Purdy, the evidence at each of the scenes was documented at the scene and then secured at the Norwich City Police Station. Some of it was sent to the New York State Police Crime Lab for further analysis.
McBride finished his direct examination of Purdy Thursday afternoon, after which Defense Attorney F. Paul Battisti began his cross-examination. Details of that cross-examination will be included in a subsequent article about the trial, which was set to resume Friday at 9:30 a.m.
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