Port Jervis man sentenced up to 19 years for trafficking heroin
GOSHEN - A man who previously pleaded guilty to operating as a major drug trafficker in Orange County was sentenced Thursday to 17 to 19 years in state prison.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced the sentence for Richard McInturff, 32, of Port Jervis.
In addition to the prison sentence, McInturff was sentenced to five years of post-release supervision.
McInturff pleaded guilty to operating as a major drug trafficker, first-degree escape and attempted second-degree assault, all felonies. in July 2022.
His father, Larry McInturff, 66, also of Port Jervis, who pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence, a felony, received a sentence of six months in Orange County Jail and five years of probation.
According to Hoovler, on March 18, 2021, members of the city of Port Jervis police department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office Special Operations Group executed a search warrant at Richard McInturff's residence.
The warrant was part of an investigation into illicit sales of heroin in Port Jervis. Detectives recovered 7,892 packets of suspected heroin and a scale of the type commonly used to weigh narcotics when they are being packaged for sale.
During plea proceedings, Richard McInturff admitted that he, acting as a profiteer, knowingly possessed 7,892 glassine envelopes of a powdery substance containing fentanyl/heroin, with the intent to sell them. He also admitted that they had a value in excess of $75,000.
Richard McInturff also admitted to escaping from custody while at the Port Jervis police department on March 19, 2021, after having been charged with operating as a major trafficker.
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In his plea, Larry McInturff admitted that on March 20, 2021, he spoke with his son Richard McInturff while his son was in Orange County Jail. At Richard McInturff's direction, Larry McInturff concealed a key ring with keys that belonged to his son, while knowing it would be used as evidence in the trial against his son.
"The arrest, prosecution and sentence of this defendant serves as a major disruption to the deadly narcotics trade in western Orange County," Hoovler said in a statement released by his office. "My office will continue our steadfast prosecution of drug dealers in order to rid our streets of these poisons."
Attorneys for Richard and Larry McInturff could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Port Jervis man sentenced up to 19 years for heroin trafficking
