(Photo via the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration).
A man is in line for a jury trial during the autumn season as he faces drug charges and an accusation of threatening a witness.
Chester L. Burdick, of the village of McGraw, was arrested twice on Dec. 1 and Dec. 8 of 2022.
According to a Cortland County Sheriff’s Office report on Burdick’s Dec. 1 (2022) arrest, the county drug task force executed a search warrant at a residence in McGraw.
The report stated the task force found that Burdick was in possession of an ounce of crystal meth, eight grams of cocaine, 46 bags of fentanyl, 68 strips of sublingual strips, 19 pills containing buprenorphine, 40 pills containing amphetamine, packaging materials, scales and an undisclosed amount of money.
Burdick’s Dec. 8 arrest involved him intimidating a witness/victim that stemmed from the Dec. 1 arrest and investigation.
According to court documents, Burdick “attempted to coerce” the victim to lie to his attorney and to the judge that the victim “secreted the drugs” and “did not buy drugs” from Burdick.
Court docs continued by noting Burdick told the victim that “nothing bad would happen” to the victim or the victim’s family, if the victim did what Burdick demanded. This caused the fear of harm for the victim and the victim’s family.
According to court docs, Burdick’s charges include:
- Third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance
- Three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance
- Fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance
- Second-degree criminal possession of cannabis
- Two counts of second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia
- And third-degree intimidating a victim or witness
Court docs mentioned that Burdick’s jury trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 30.
