Police say a registered sex offender and another resident of a Janet Street home sold heroin and fentanyl from the house. A local alderman, meanwhile, said that the house had been a persistent source of neighborhood complaints in the year leading up to the bust.
On April 23, Bruce M. Gilmore, 47, and Ashley A. Skinnider (age not provided) of Kingston were arrested by Kingston police and charged with felony third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Robert A. Kovacs, 30, of West Shokan was charged with misdemeanor seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance following the raid by members of the KPD’s Special Investigations Unit. In a press release, KPD officials said that the arrests followed an investigation of heroin and fentanyl sales at the couple’s residence.
Common Council Majority Leader Rennie Scott-Childress (D-Ward 3) said that the house at 35 Janet St. had generated a number of complaints over the past year, including a report to the city’s Building and Safety Division about trash in the yard and a rat infestation. “They were not good neighbors,” said Scott-Childress.
State records show that Gilmore is a registered sex offender. In 2002 he was convicted of felony second-degree sexual abuse in the second degree involving a child less than 14 years old. Gilmore and Skinnider were sent to the Ulster County Jail pending arraignment. Kovacs was released with an appearance ticket returnable to Kingston City Court.