United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), Steven G. James, and Chief of the City of Newburgh Police Department (“CNPD”), Brandon Rola, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging eight defendants with conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in the vicinity of West Parmenter Street in Newburgh, New York. The defendants—Maurice Owens, a/k/a “Mo Nice,” Shaka Eggleston, a/k/a “Shak,” Troy Smith, a/k/a “Castro,” Robert Morganfield, a/k/a “MJ,” Houston Brown, a/k/a “Euro,” Walter Herring a/k/a “Noodles,” Jason LOWE, a/k/a “Boogie,” and James Tyrone Hayes, a/k/a “Country”—were presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern.
“Our Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to keep dangerous drugs off the streets of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “As alleged in the indictment, these defendants participated in a conspiracy to flood the streets of Newburgh with a steady flow of crack cocaine. This conspiracy allegedly transformed Newburgh’s West Parmenter Street into an open-air drug market, where they have conducted thousands of narcotics transactions in broad daylight, poisoning the neighborhood with illicit drugs for their own profit.”
“The FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force works every day alongside our state and local partners to combat violent crime, and part of that means ridding the streets of illicit narcotics,” said Assistant FBI Director James C. Barnacle, Jr. “As alleged in the indictment, these eight individuals made it their business to sell drugs in a shameless open-air market. This FBI will stop at nothing to dismantle these drug networks and make our communities safer as a result.”
“The drug trafficking alleged in this case threatens the safety and quality of life of Newburgh residents,” said NYSP Superintendent Steven James. “These arrests reflect the sustained work of our investigators and our federal and local partners to disrupt narcotics distribution and hold those responsible accountable. We remain committed to working together to protect our communities and make neighborhoods safer for the people who call them home.”
“This case demonstrates the strength of our partnership with the FBI and our shared commitment to keeping the City of Newburgh safe,” said CNPD Chief Brandon Rola. “The City of Newburgh Detective Division played an important role in this joint investigation, and our detectives and officers assisted in apprehending all of the targets as part of our ongoing work to restore safety to West Parmenter Street. I thank the FBI and everyone involved for their hard work, coordination, and dedication to our community. Our participation in the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force remains an important part of our efforts to protect the City of Newburgh and hold offenders accountable.”
As alleged in the Indictment, and based on statements made in public court proceedings:
From in or about 2025 through in or about October 2026, OWENS, EGGLESTON, SMITH, MORGANFIELD, BROWN, HERRING, LOWE, and HAYES conspired to distribute large volumes of crack cocaine in the vicinity of West Parmenter Street in Newburgh, New York, primarily through hand-to-hand narcotics transactions. In the course of this investigation, law enforcement conducted more than sixty controlled purchases of crack cocaine, involving each member of the conspiracy charged in this Indictment. Moreover, each of the eight defendants charged in this conspiracy were observed on surveillance video, regularly conducting apparent narcotics transactions on West Parmenter Street over the course of the last several months. A review of surveillance video collected through this investigation indicates that members of the conspiracy would often conduct dozens of narcotics transactions each day in the vicinity of West Parmenter Street.
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OWENS, 48, of Rock Tavern, New York, EGGLESTON, 28, of Newburgh, New York, SMITH, 57, of Cornwall, New York, MORGANFIELD, 57, of Newburgh, New York, BROWN, 31, of New Windsor, New York, HERRING, 45, of Newburgh, New York, LOWE, 39, of Newburgh, New York, and HAYES, 56, of Newburgh, New York, are charged with narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The statutory minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, the New York State Police, the New York Police Department, the City of Newburgh Police Department, the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Port Jervis Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ioannis Drivas and Patricia Reville are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth in this release constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
26_cr_475_maurice_owens_et_al_-_redacted_indi.pdf
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Southern District of New York — U.S. Department of Justice press release.