At 2 p.m., members of the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, New York State Police CNET and Ellicott Police Department conducted two separate search warrants at 19 S. Work St. in Falconer.

Inside, police reportedly seized 11.38 ounces of cocaine, $21,206 in cash and a loaded 9mm pistol, later found to be stolen from Erie, Pa.

Police charged Demario Chatmon, 38, with first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, an A-1 felony, as his apartment allegedly contained more than nine ounces of cocaine and cash. He was charged with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a loaded gun and a pair of brass knuckles were found as well.

Chatmon was also allegedly found with 9 grams of crack cocaine when searched in the city jail. He was additionally charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Damien Thomas

Damien E. Thomas, 39, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon after police reportedly seized 2 ounces of cocaine and more than 3 ounces of marijuana from his apartment.

Both Chatmon and Thomas are currently awaiting arraignment.

Chatmon, formerly of Buffalo, was previously charged in January after allegedly delivering crack cocaine in the area of the Warren Mall, in Warren County, Pa. He was taken to the Warren County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

According to Chief Harry Snellings of the Jamestown Police Department, Chatmon and Thomas were reportedly selling narcotics from their Falconer apartments. Their arrests, he added, were the result of information gathered in an earlier traffic stop conducted by the “Targeted Crime Deterrence Enforcement” initiative, a newly-launched campaign that aims to bring tougher enforcement to some of the city’s most crime-heavy sections.

Snellings said this demonstrates how one initiative working with all the other teams and resources available can be successful.

Demario Chatmon

Chief William Ohnmeiss of the Ellicott Police Department praised the cooperation among local law enforcement, but referred to the recent arrests as a “bittersweet achievement.”

“Everytime we do one of these I feel like a broken record,” he said. “These arrests seem to be becoming more frequent and larger and larger … and it has to send a clear message to our citizens and politicians that the need for (police) officers to continue to fight this epic problem … is not a ‘want,’ but a ‘must.'”

Ohnmeiss, who recently lost a full-time officer on the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force due to budget constraints, said he will “push and appeal again” in the next budget year to fund a full-time officer for the task force.

In the meantime, he added, the Ellicott police will help whenever possible.