On April 19 at approximately 2 p.m., Saugerties police officers arrested 29-year-old David R. Mencke for the second time in three days, again for the possession of heroin.
According to police reports, officers responded to a complaint of a person slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle in the parking lot at Simmons Plaza in the Town of Saugerties. Upon arrival, Mencke was still passed out behind the wheel with the vehicle running. When Mencke came to, he told officers that he had been snorting heroin prior to passing out. A search of Mencke’s vehicle led to the discovery of a bundle of heroin and a quantity of marijuana located in the vehicle’s trunk. Mencke was taken into custody and processed at the Saugerties Police Department on the misdemeanor charges of driving while ability impaired by drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 7th degree and the violation of unlawful possession of marihuana in the 2nd degree.
Mencke was released on an appearance ticket to return to the Saugerties justice court once the court systems reopen.
Mencke was previously arrested on April 16 when Saugerties police officers discovered a vehicle parked in the middle of the road on Dawes Street in the Village of Saugerties. The vehicle, a 2019 Nissan, was running and Mencke was passed out on the front seat. Mencke regained consciousness as officers were checking on his condition. Officers observed a bundle of packets that were stamped with the name Anthrax and several baggies, which contained a substance that Mencke told officers was heroin. Incidental to a search, Mencke was found in possession of 50 decks of heroin, marijuana and over $1,500.
Mencke was taken into custody and processed at the Saugerties Police Department on the felony charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree with intent to sell and the violation of unlawful possession of marihuana in the second degree. Mencke was arraigned utilizing virtual arraignment procedures with Ulster County Court. He was released and is scheduled to appear in the Village of Saugerties Justice Court on May 18.
“A year ago, prior to bail reform, someone like Mr. Mencke would be in Ulster County Jail and he would be getting help with his drug addiction… the courts can no longer facilitate this,” said Saugerties
Police Chief Joe Sinagra, who has since put Mencke in contact with the Ulster county Sheriff Department’s ORACLE program. “They’re engaging this individual and getting him treatment — I don’t want him to be the next statistic in Saugerties.”
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