String Of Drug Arrests: 5 Suspects Face Charges In Putnam County

The five arrests were all made by the Narcotics Enforcement Unit in Putnam County and stemmed from three incidents on Tuesday, June 13, Wednesday, June 14, and Wednesday, May 31, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. 

The first three arrests resulted from the May 31 incident, when NEU members saw three suspects allegedly committing larcenies at a business in the town of Southeast. When authorities attempted to pull over the suspects at a traffic stop, they tried to flee the scene and caused damage to a Sheriff's Office vehicle in the process. 

After eventually being caught at the scene, two of the suspects were identified and charged with the following:

• James Sorrell, age 38, of Carmel, was charged with fourth-degree possession of stolen property, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree reckless endangerment, and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance;
• Elena Lafalce, age 25, of Carmel, was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

A third suspect, 29-year-old Michael Brown of Wappingers Falls, was able to escape the scene and was eventually arrested on Tuesday, June 13 by the Village of Wappingers Falls Police Department on a warrant. He was then turned over to the Sheriff's Office and charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration. 

The second incident that resulted in an arrest happened on June 13, when NEU investigators arrested 23-year-old Nicholas Bunyea of Patterson on four outstanding bench warrants issued by Town of Patterson Court, Town of Carmel Court, and Town of Southeast Court for failing to appear in court for prior arrests, authorities said. 

According to the Sheriff's Office, Bunyea had been in possession of heroin when he was taken into custody. He was charged with: 

• Second-degree bail jumping;
• Two counts of third-degree bail jumping;
• Seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Bunyea was later arraigned in Town of Carmel Justice Court and remanded to Putnam County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 cash or a $10,000 bond. 

The final drug-related arrest was made on June 14, when NEU investigators arrested 29-year-old Brandon Gattling of Waterbury, Connecticut in relation to a drug-related investigation. 

According to the Sheriff's Office, Gattling had been communicating with an undercover investigator from the NEU and had agreed to deliver an amount of heroin to a location in Southeast. He was then taken into custody without incident by the NEU, which found that he was allegedly in possession of heroin and fentanyl that was packaged for sale. 

Gattling was charged with: 

• Third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance;
• Third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Gattling was arraigned in the Town of Southeast Justice Court and remanded to Putnam County Correctional Facility without bail because of his prior felony convictions, the Sheriff's Office said. 

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