`ladder' Supports Yes' Fresh Approach

All Aboard For The Holidays

By DAVID WEISS Times Leader Correspondent
 Thursday, November 25, 1999 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE - Two New Jersey men were arrested Tuesday on charges of
selling heroin and cocaine near King's College. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police charged Russell Eric Wright, 39, and Eric Hakim Hammond, 23, both of
Newark, with possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent
to deliver a controlled substance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Troopers said they observed the two at their East North Street apartment
for one week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The two also face stiffer penalties if convicted because they are accused
of selling the drugs in a school zone, police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to police: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Thursday, undercover officers went to the intersection of North Main and
East North streets to buy heroin. Wright was standing on the corner after
leaving the North Street apartment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wright approached the trooper, who told Wright he wanted 10 packs of
heroin. Wright directed the trooper to the back of a building near King's
College. He pulled out three packs of heroin from a pack of cigarettes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The trooper paid $160 for the three packs. Wright said he had to go back to
the apartment for the other packs. He returned with several more packs and
sold the trooper one. The other bags, Wright said, were promised to someone
else. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wright also told the trooper that if he ever needed anything else, to go
right to the apartment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At 4:20 p.m. Monday, a trooper went to the apartment in an attempt to buy
more heroin. He knocked on the door and a female answered. The trooper asked
Hammond for heroin. Hammond told the trooper he didn't have any heroin, but he
did have cocaine. The trooper purchased 15 bags of cocaine for $290. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The seized substances tested positive for heroin and cocaine. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 District Justice Donald Whittaker of Nanticoke lodged the two in the
Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $100,000 bail each. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The two will be scheduled for a preliminary hearing before District Justice
Martin Kane of Wilkes-Barre.

2 Charged With Drug Sale Near College The Men Face Heavier Penalties Because The Alleged Sales Took Place Near A Wilkes-barre School.