Trio charged in North East shooting now facing drug charges following search of NY hotel room
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — When U.S. Marshals, acting on a tip about the possible whereabouts of three men wanted in a North East shooting, checked out a hotel in Ellicott, New York, on Tuesday, they found more than the suspects there.
They also found a cache of illegal narcotics in their hotel room, according to authorities in Chautauqua County.
The three suspects who were the focus of Tuesday's manhunt are now facing drug charges in Chautauqua County in addition to attempted homicide and other charges in the shooting of a 21-year-old Erie man in North East Township on Dec. 28.
The suspects — Mark R. Smith, 32, of Albion; James A. Terrell, 28, of Erie; and Sammy Carrasquillo Jr., 18, of Cleveland — remained in the Chautauqua County Jail on Thursday, charged as fugitives from justice and facing drug-related offenses.
Trio wanted in NE shooting nabbed in NY: Trio of suspects wanted in beating, shooting of Erie man in North East woods nabbed in NY
The three were taken into custody late Tuesday morning from the Clarion Pointe Hotel, 2800 N. Main St. in Ellicott, near Jamestown. Members of the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Fugitive Task Force apprehended them while acting on information developed by the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force in Erie about the possible whereabouts of Smith, Terrell and Carrasquillo, authorities reported Tuesday afternoon.
Pennsylvania State Police issued arrest warrants for the three on charges including two counts of attempted homicide in the attack on the 21-year-old Erie man.
The victim was found beaten and shot at least twice after he went to a house in the 9500 block of West Main Street in North East Township for help on the evening of Dec. 28. He later told troopers he was with four people who were giving him a ride when the others told the victim they were going to do a "lik," or a robbery.
The victim said when he refused to participate, the suspects beat him in a vehicle before driving out to a wooded area in North East Township, where they continued to beat him and shot him, according to investigators.
Suspects sought in North East shooting: State police said victim of shooting, stabbing in North East said robbery refusal led to attack
One of the suspects, 23-year-old Dreshaun D. Jordan of Erie, was arraigned and jailed in the case on Jan. 4 after he was apprehended following a vehicle pursuit in Jamestown, New York. Authorities said Smith was with Jordan during the pursuit but ran off and was not apprehended.
According to the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office, one of the three suspects found at the Clarion Pointe Hotel in Ellicott on Tuesday was taken into custody from the parking lot and the other two were apprehended in a hotel room.
Members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force later obtained a search warrant for the hotel room and served it on Tuesday afternoon. Investigators said they found 22 ounces of suspected methamphetamine, about 7 grams of suspected fentanyl, 1 gram of suspected cocaine and $600 in cash.
The investigation into the drug discovery is ongoing, Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone said Thursday.
The Pennsylvania State Police are not involved in the drug investigation at this point, Lt. Mark Weindorf, crime section supervisor for state police Troop E in Lawrence Park Township, said Thursday.
Authorities in Chautauqua County charged Carrasquillo, Smith and Terrell with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia in the drug investigation.
It was unknown Thursday when the three might return to Erie County to be arraigned on charges in the attempted homicide case.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County shootings: Trio charged in North East shooting face drug counts
