For More Information Contact:
Drug Task Force Coordinator
Detective Sergeant Adam D. Harris
The Dutchess County Drug Task Force reports the arrest of Shawn W. Phillips D.O.B. 06/13/1982 for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (Fentanyl) in the 3rd Degree with intent to sell on 10/21/22. The arrest is the result of a several month long investigation into Fentanyl sales in the Dutchess County area. The investigation led to a search warrant being executed at a residence in the Town of Red Hook where a quantity of U.S. currency and Fentanyl was seized. Mr. Phillips was arraigned in the Town of Hyde Park Justice Court and remanded to DCJ without bail.
Phillips is believed to be responsible for the distribution of a significant quantity of Fentanyl found in counterfeit Oxycodone 30 mg in the Dutchess County area, and this arrest is believed to have disrupted a pipeline of Fentanyl being transported into Dutchess County. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. According to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of Fentanyl can be lethal. According to the CDC, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66 percent of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like Fentanyl. In 2021, the Dutchess County Drug Task Force recorded more than 100 fatal drug overdose deaths within Dutchess County with Fentanyl being involved in an overwhelming amount of cases.
The Dutchess County Drug Task Force was assisted by the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau and K-9 Unit.
If anyone has information regarding this case or about any other individuals selling drugs in Dutchess County, you are urged to contact the Drug Task Force confidential tip line at 845-463-6040 or by sending an email to the following web address: DrugTaskForceTips@gmail.com
As with any criminal case the charge described above is merely an accusation and Mr. Phillips is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
