NORWICH – Opening statements for a jury trial are set to take place Thursday, pending the expected completion of a two-day long jury selection. The Chenango County Court case involves a New Berlin man who was arrested in 2014 for allegedly being involved in the possession and sale of a large amount of heroin.
Jose Iran Gonzalez, 48, of New Berlin was originally arrested in Oct. 1, 2014 by the Norwich Police Department.
Gonzalez, then 47, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony; possession with intent to sell; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a class A misdemeanor; and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor.
It is alleged at approximately 1:34 a.m. on Oct. 1 at the Howard Johnson's Hotel parking lot, located at 75 N. Broad St. in the City of Norwich, Gonzalez did knowingly and unlawfully possess 45 envelopes containing the narcotic drug heroin and 10 oblong white tablets marked “176” containing the narcotic drug dihydrocodeinone with acetaminophen with the intent to sell.
This arrest stemmed from an alert which was put out by the New Berlin Police Department for a stolen vehicle.
It is also alleged that when the vehicle was located in the Howard Johnson's parking lot that there was another individual inside the vehicle. Gonzalez was not in the vehicle when the car was approached but was found nearby.
An arraignment was set for Jan. 7, 2015 but Gonzalez did not show up to his arraignment for the charges he was indicted on last December.
Gonzalez was assigned a public defender for the matter, John D. Cameron, who has represented him since the time of the arraignment.
When Gonzalez failed to show up for his arraignment, Cameron indicated that he did not know where his client was and that he had not heard from him.
District Attorney, Joseph A. McBride requested $50,000 cash bail for Gonzalez, since he is a “known drug dealer” and has a “wrap sheet out of Queens, NY.”
“He has a history of failing to appear,” said McBride in a previous article.
It should also be noted that Norwich Police’s K9 Nitro assisted in the investigation.
