BARRYVILLE, NY — A Yulan man has been arrested by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office for operating an illegal marijuana dispensary, which also sold drugs, in the Town of Highland. John T. Lomio, age 36, was charged with the class A-2 felonies of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance, as well as other charges related to the illegal sale of cannabis. Lomio, who has a previous drug-related conviction, was arraigned before Town of Highland Judge Anthony LaRuffa and remanded to the Sullivan County Jail without bail. He is due back in court August 9.

On July 31, sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at the suspect’s mobile office trailer known as “The Green Room” in the parking lot of the River’s Edge Restaurant and Motel, which is located at the intersection of State Routes 97 and 55. Deputies also searched Lomio’s residence at 13 Beaver Brook Rd. in Yulan. Recovered from both locations were quantities of cannabis-related products and psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms.  Psilocybin is a hallucinogen that produces effects similar to LSD. 

“Thank you, Sheriff Schiff, Undersheriff Chaboty, the detectives and deputies who worked this case so diligently, and all of our law enforcement partners at the county, state and federal level who assisted in the successful mitigation of a threat to the public safety, health and well-being in the Town of Highland,” said Highland Supervisor Jeff Haas. “The Town of Highland is not the place for those who seek to commit quality of life crimes or pedal illicit and illegal substances to residents or visitors, and we will not tolerate criminal behavior here. We are a small but mighty town, and will not fall victim to those who seek to exploit our community.”