ELLENVILLE, NY — On October 10 the members of the New York State Police at Ellenville arrested John Saunders in the Town of Wawarsing. Saunders, 42, of Brooklyn, was charged with promoting prison contraband, a first-degree felony; and criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.

The New York State Police along with the New York State Department of Correctional Services conducted a K-9 sweep at Eastern Correctional Facility located on Institution Road in Napanoch. The sweep targeted the possessions and vehicles of visitors at the facility. The State Police K-9 Unit detected and located one electronic cigarette containing hash oil found in Saunder’s vehicle; he was visiting an inmate at the facility at the time.

Saunders was arrested and processed at State Police Ellenville. He was arraigned in the Town of Wawarsing Court before Town Justice Charles Dechon, who remanded Saunders to the Ulster County Jail with no bail, to reappear in the Town of Wawarsing Court at a later date.