Eight people have been charged with conspiring to distribute crack cocaine in the vicinity of West Parmenter Street in Newburgh, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
The indictment, unsealed Friday, alleges the defendants operated an open-air drug market on West Parmenter Street from 2025 through October 2026, conducting large numbers of hand-to-hand narcotics transactions.
The defendants are Maurice Owens, 48, of Rock Tavern, also known as “Mo Nice”; Shaka Eggleston, 28, of Newburgh, also known as “Shak”; Troy Smith, 57, of Cornwall, also known as “Castro”; Robert Morganfield, 57, of Newburgh, also known as “MJ”; Houston Brown, 31, of New Windsor, also known as “Euro”; Walter Herring, 45, of Newburgh, also known as “Noodles”; Jason Lowe, 39, of Newburgh, also known as “Boogie”; and James Tyrone Hayes, 56, of Newburgh, also known as “Country.”
According to the indictment and statements made in federal court, investigators conducted more than 60 controlled purchases of crack cocaine during the investigation, involving each of the eight defendants. Surveillance video allegedly showed all eight defendants regularly conducting apparent narcotics transactions on West Parmenter Street over several months.
A review of surveillance footage indicated that members of the alleged conspiracy sometimes conducted dozens of narcotics transactions in the area in a single day, prosecutors said.
All eight defendants were presented Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern.
The defendants are each charged with narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the alleged operation had turned part of West Parmenter Street into an open-air drug market.
“Our Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to keep dangerous drugs off the streets of our communities,” McDonald said.
The investigation involved the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, New York State Police, New York Police Department, City of Newburgh Police Department, Town of Newburgh Police Department, Town of New Windsor Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office and Port Jervis Police Department.
Newburgh Police Chief Brandon Rola said the department's Detective Division played a role in the investigation and that city officers assisted in apprehending all of the defendants.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office's White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ioannis Drivas and Patricia Reville are handling the prosecution.
The charges are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.