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Autopsy performed on body found in Susquehanna River

<p>Luzerne County&#8217;s Drug Task Force likely will be beefed up with five part-time officers.</p><p>County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said Monday she has secured $40,000 in state funding for more officers to initiate and help with narcotics investigations.</p><p>&#8220;This will provide additional resources to help local law enforcement with drug problems in their communities,&#8221; Salavantis said.</p><p>County council is set to discuss the matter Tuesday because a 2019 budget amendment would be required to factor in the additional expense and revenue.</p><p>Salavantis stressed there will be no net cost to the general fund operating budget.</p><p>Her office had assumed control of the task force from the state Attorney General&#8217;s Office in late 2016, believing local oversight of the law enforcement agency coalition would bolster efforts to combat drug activity.</p><p>A drug task force coordinator has been working with the more than 200 local police officers signed up to participate, with guidance from an assistant district attorney focused on the task force cases, including search warrants, Salavantis said.</p><p>Earlier this year, Salavantis secured funding through the state Attorney General&#8217;s Office to cover the salary and health benefits for a new full-time, nonunion drug task force officer. Shawn Williams was hired to that position at $23.08 per hour in April, records show.</p><p>The new $40,000 allocation for part-time officers also is from the state agency.</p><p>She expects the five officers will be paid $20 per hour and each work about 100 hours per month. The part-time positions don&#8217;t include pensions or health benefits.</p><p>The state plans to continue providing the funding for both the full-time and part-time positions in 2020 and subsequent years, she said.</p><p>Task force officers are responsible for launching narcotics investigations throughout the county, the job description says. They also must work with police departments countywide and organize and assist with multi-agency investigations.</p><p>At least a decade of investigative experience is required to be an officer, including work on cases involving controlled substances and familiarity with search and seizure law, the description says.</p><p>&#8220;I want to make sure these individuals can hit the ground running and jump right in, focusing on anything that can be thrown at them,&#8221; Salavantis said.</p><p>Municipal police in smaller departments also will learn from these more experienced officers, providing a training benefit, she predicted.</p><p>Salavantis said she reviews all drug task force tip line communications and has noticed an increase in reports from residents about suspected drug activity in their neighborhoods. Addressing more of these cases is the goal, she said.</p><p>&#8220;Some of these police departments are overburdened. They&#8217;re just running from call to call, and it&#8217;s hard to take a moment to work on a drug case and do proactive work to keep their communities clean and safe,&#8221; Salavantis said.</p><p>Council Chairman Tim McGinley said the district attorney&#8217;s office has argued more workers are needed, and he has no problem supporting the additional employees as long as the outside funding continues. He said he would be would be interested to learn if drug arrests and seizures increase as a result of the additional state-funded staffers.</p><p>In 2018, the task force made 134 arrests and seized 24 weapons and the following quantities of drugs, according to the district attorney&#8217;s office: heroin alone or mixed with fentanyl, 1,446.78 grams; fentanyl, 5 kilograms plus 676.34 grams; methamphetamine, 508.25 grams; crack/cocaine, 677.13 grams; and marijuana, 31.6 pounds.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Salavantis </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_salavantis_ebmeeting.jpg</photo0><caption0>Salavantis </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Hiring of five more Luzerne County Drug Task Force officers planned