El Paso County sheriff’s investigators arrested two men on drug charges Tuesday in Central El Paso following an anonymous tip, officials said.
Jovan Ramos and Roberto Daniel Saavedra were arrested on drug possession charges during a traffic stop at Arizona Avenue and Noble Street, sheriff’s officials said.
During a search of a vehicle, investigators found a pound of hydroponic marijuana, 21 grams of cocaine and a gram of the prescription drug Adderall, officials said.
Two people were arrested on multiple drug charges Wednesday night after police received an anonymous tip through the department’s tip411 texting service.
The anonymous text was sent to the department around 7 p.m. saying that a car was parked on Oakwood Drive in the town’s South Line district and several people were smoking drugs.
“Officers Chris Wierzbowski and Mike Menth responded and found two people in the car and then discovered a baggie with crack cocaine at the feet of the occupants. Further investigation led to the discovery of multiple envelopes of heroin, a crack pipe, and several hypodermic needles,” said James Speyer, Assistant Chief of Police.
Police arrested and charged Jessica Seiler, 22 of Tristan Lane, Williamsville and Dillon Butchart, 25 of Pleasant Ave, Depew with three counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Hypodermic Instrument.
The borough police department has launched an anonymous texting line for people to report crimes, authorities announced Wednesday.
People will now be able to text 847411 (tip411) and send anonymous tips about crime or suspicious activity, authorities said.
More than 1,200 communities in the United States use tip411, which allows police officers to receive real-time information, Ramsey police said.
“We believe the public is our greatest law enforcement resource,” Chief Brian Gurney said. “Tip411 allows a safe and secure way for community members to share important information with police without the fear of retribution.”
The service also “removes all identifying information before police see it and there is no way to identify the sender,” authorities said.
Gurney said that the service could also be used for people to report possible overdoses.
“Due to the opiate overdose epidemic, we are hoping that the Tip411 system will offer an alternative for people who may know of others that may need help with their opioid addiction,” he said. “We are also offering an alternative for young people, who do not want to formally contact police with regard to their friends that may be experiencing drug addiction and other issues.”
Gurney said anyone with questions can get more information by calling 201-327-2400.
tip411 interviewed Detective Cpt. Paul Campbell of the Hazard Police Department, who is in charge of the department’s use of their tip411 system in Hazard, Kentucky.
Q: Tell us about Hazard and your department.
A: Hazard PD has about 50 employees, sworn and civilian.
Our city fluctuates in population from about 3,500 to nearly 20,000 during daytime hours due to commuters. In the past few years we’ve seen a significant rise in felonies in our area as well as a rise in drug problems (meth, heroin, cocaine, pills, etc.), just like many other cities have seen.
Q: How is the tip411 system used in your city?
A: tip411 is a collaboration between the police department and City Hall, allowing us to send alerts with important city information while also having the ability to let community members submit anonymous tips about crime and other public safety issues.
We receive tips about many subjects, including thefts, prostitution, and suspicious persons, but the overwhelming amount have been drug related.
If I had to compare how many tips we received in the last 5 years before tip411 it would not compare to the amount of tips we’ve received in just the past 4 or 5 months with tip411.
Q: Why do you think that is?
A: Being able to have a place for people to go to and cry for help while feeling safe about it has been a big help. Now they can reach out anonymously without having to block their number, change their voice, etc.
Not every tip has been gold, but 25% have contained good, decent intel that we would not have received without having the service. We’ve benefited big time.
Q: Why tip411?
A: We initially looked at tip411 just because of its anonymous tip feature. At about the same time, City Hall approached me about finding a mass alerting system to inform residents about city issues.
tip411 took care of not only the police department’s needs, but City Hall as well, and helps us to work in collaboration with one another to share alerts about boil water advisories, road closures, utility disruptions, and more.
Q: Anything you would tell other agencies considering tip411?
A: What it comes down to is, “how much are you willing to pay to keep the public happy while helping them feel safe and informed?”
It’s well worth the money and it’s kinda silly not to invest in it. The response we’ve had was been nothing but positive; beyond what we expected and I really don’t think we could go back to the old way of taking tips.
All it takes is that one time, on that one cold case.
One of the tips that came in through tip411 was about a suspect we had been looking into in relation to a double homicide in 2013. He was a suspect in an unrelated robbery, and we put his information out via tip411. We received a tip that helped us locate him and bring him in for questioning. During an interrogation he confessed to his involvement in the 2013 homicide and we were able to solve that cold case.
The system paid for itself right then and there.
