KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo police have recently identified 23-year-old Kevin Jones as one of the “top” drug dealers in the area, said Capt. Brad Misner. They’ve been tracking his move for weeks.
“We have been watching this guy for a while and making some undercover buys from him,” Capt. Misner said during an interview at Public Safety Headquarters. “We understood that he was kind of like the dealer in the area.”
Tuesday they arrested him during a buy bust on Concord Place Drive in Oshtemo Township, he said. Police along with the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team found six grams of heroin in a residence near were the arrest happened, including marijuana and a large amount of money.
“It’s causing a lot of issues in our community,” said Capt. Misner about the heroin crisis. “So what KVET — Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team — is doing is focusing on the dealers and not the users. The dealers are basically feeding off of, or preying off the users.”
Capt. Misner said there’s been a spike in overdoses in the area with 79 since the beginning of the year compared to 90 in total in 2017. They’re hoping the arrest will put a dent into the growing crisis.
“We’re dealing with what we call hot heroin or even fentanyl,” he said. “Heroin is being sold as fentanyl and that’s going to cause an OD.”
And, in some cases, death he said. The goal is to ultimately get the users help. In the meantime, police appreciate all the tips they get from residents about suspected drug deal happening. They encourage people to never hesitate to call.
“Our biggest issue is the dealers,” Capt. Misner said. “You know it’s not the users. The product is there for them to use. And if we can take the dealers out, it cleans up our community.”
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