MONROE - Three Monroe men and one Brooklyn man are charged with dealing narcotics or heroin following undercover investigations by area drug-enforcement agents that led to arrest warrants and criminal complaints filed Wednesday, April 4, in Green County Circuit Court.
Two of the men were arrested the same day, according to Police Chief Fred Kelley. A third was arrested Thursday.
Each of the cases is built on evidence that the defendants sold drugs in Monroe in December and January to "confidential sources" paid by drug agents to perform sting operations.
Richard Daniel Ward, 20, Monroe, was arrested at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at his residence in the 400 block of 6th Avenue West on Class E felony charges of possession and delivery of fentanyl, a potent prescription narcotic, within 1,000 feet of a park and within 1,000 feet of a school. The charges stem from undercover drug purchases made in his home on Dec. 9 and Jan. 10.
Ward remained in jail as of Thursday afternoon. His bail was set at a $9,000 signature bond and a $1,000 cash bond.
James John Knox, 49, Monroe, was arrested at about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of 13th Avenue on the same charges, except the alleged drugs in his case are morphine and oxycodone, both prescription narcotics.
The criminal complaint alleges he sold 10 tablets of acetaminophen and oxycodone for $50 in a parked car in front of an apartment building in the 800 block of 6th Street on Dec. 19 and five tablets of morphine for $65 on Dec. 22, again in the same location.
Knox was jailed and released Thursday after signing a $9,000 signature bond and posting a $1,000 cash bond.
His son, Jordan James Knox, 22, also of Monroe, was arrested at 10:25 a.m. Thursday in the 1400 block of 13th Avenue. He's in jail and awaiting a court appearance.
The younger Knox faces one Class F felony count of delivering heroin. He allegedly sold 0.4 grams of heroin on Jan. 9 inside an apartment in the 800 block of 6th Street, at the same address where his father was reported to have been dealing pills weeks earlier.
A warrant also was issued Wednesday for the arrest of Bradley A. Larson, 22, Brooklyn.
Larson faces two Class F felony counts of delivering heroin. According to the criminal complaint, he sold 0.3 grams of foil-wrapped heroin for $100 to a source in the men's restroom at Walgreens on Jan. 10. The transaction was again orchestrated by drug agents, who paid the source $60 for the service.
Larson also allegedly sold 0.3 grams of heroin for $50 in the parking lot of the same apartment building in the 800 block of 6th Street. Again, law enforcement kept surveillance nearby and paid a source to buy the drug.
A fifth man with reported heroin connections is named in the criminal complaint, but no charges have yet been filed against him, according to online court records.
Charges in these cases stem from an ongoing investigation into illegal drug trafficking conducted by the State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT), a regional taskforce that includes officers in Wisconsin from the Green County Sheriff's and Monroe Police departments and in Illinois from the Illinois State Police and the Rockford, Loves Park and Freeport police departments.
Two of the men were arrested the same day, according to Police Chief Fred Kelley. A third was arrested Thursday.
Each of the cases is built on evidence that the defendants sold drugs in Monroe in December and January to "confidential sources" paid by drug agents to perform sting operations.
Richard Daniel Ward, 20, Monroe, was arrested at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at his residence in the 400 block of 6th Avenue West on Class E felony charges of possession and delivery of fentanyl, a potent prescription narcotic, within 1,000 feet of a park and within 1,000 feet of a school. The charges stem from undercover drug purchases made in his home on Dec. 9 and Jan. 10.
Ward remained in jail as of Thursday afternoon. His bail was set at a $9,000 signature bond and a $1,000 cash bond.
James John Knox, 49, Monroe, was arrested at about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of 13th Avenue on the same charges, except the alleged drugs in his case are morphine and oxycodone, both prescription narcotics.
The criminal complaint alleges he sold 10 tablets of acetaminophen and oxycodone for $50 in a parked car in front of an apartment building in the 800 block of 6th Street on Dec. 19 and five tablets of morphine for $65 on Dec. 22, again in the same location.
Knox was jailed and released Thursday after signing a $9,000 signature bond and posting a $1,000 cash bond.
His son, Jordan James Knox, 22, also of Monroe, was arrested at 10:25 a.m. Thursday in the 1400 block of 13th Avenue. He's in jail and awaiting a court appearance.
The younger Knox faces one Class F felony count of delivering heroin. He allegedly sold 0.4 grams of heroin on Jan. 9 inside an apartment in the 800 block of 6th Street, at the same address where his father was reported to have been dealing pills weeks earlier.
A warrant also was issued Wednesday for the arrest of Bradley A. Larson, 22, Brooklyn.
Larson faces two Class F felony counts of delivering heroin. According to the criminal complaint, he sold 0.3 grams of foil-wrapped heroin for $100 to a source in the men's restroom at Walgreens on Jan. 10. The transaction was again orchestrated by drug agents, who paid the source $60 for the service.
Larson also allegedly sold 0.3 grams of heroin for $50 in the parking lot of the same apartment building in the 800 block of 6th Street. Again, law enforcement kept surveillance nearby and paid a source to buy the drug.
A fifth man with reported heroin connections is named in the criminal complaint, but no charges have yet been filed against him, according to online court records.
Charges in these cases stem from an ongoing investigation into illegal drug trafficking conducted by the State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT), a regional taskforce that includes officers in Wisconsin from the Green County Sheriff's and Monroe Police departments and in Illinois from the Illinois State Police and the Rockford, Loves Park and Freeport police departments.