Ridgefield Teen Charged In Undercover Heroin, Gun Swap

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. -- A pair of Connecticut men, including a teenager from Ridgefield, are accused of trying to trade an illegal handgun for $500 worth of heroin to undercover officers in Bedford, N.Y., police said.

John McCarthy (left) and Timothy McLean of Ridgefield are both charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Photo Credit: *Westchester County Department of Public Safety*

This is the loaded .32-caliber Beretta the two men wanted to trade for drugs, Westchester County police said.
Photo Credit: *Westchester County Department of Public Safety*

by Brian Donnelly

02/27/2014 11:30 a.m.

Westchester County, N.Y., police said they learned that John McCarthy, 26, of Sherman, and Timothy McLean, 19, of Ridgefield, wanted to buy 50 envelopes of heroin in exchange for a .32-caliber handgun.

Officers arranged a meeting Wednesday with the two suspects in a parking area on Route 172 near Interstate 684 in Bedford, police said. McLean and McCarthy arrived at about 9:45 a.m. and were arrested when officers saw the two were in possession of a loaded .32-caliber Beretta and two envelopes of heroin, according to a police report.

McCarthy and McLean were each charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.

McCarthy was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. McLean was also charged with possession of a hypodermic instrument, a misdemeanor.

The two men were arraigned in Bedford Town Court on Wednesday night. Bail was set at $25,000 for McLean and $10,000 for McCarthy.

McLean, of Ridgecrest Road, was among a group of 15 Ridgefield high school students who were arrested June 6, 2012, charged with looting the home of a family away on vacation on April 5, 2012, the NewsTimes.com said.

At the time, McLean was charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree larceny.

His online record at the Connecticut Judicial Branch website says he has a court appearance March 7. The case, which matches the date of his arrest in the looting incident, says it is awaiting disposition for accelerated rehabilitation, a form of probation.

The "substituted charges" listed are third-degree burglary, a felony, and conspiracy to commit third-degree burglary, a felony. He is listed as pleading not guilty to both of those charges.

According to the state website, AR is a program that gives persons charged with a crime or motor vehicle violation for the first time a second chance. The person is placed on probation for up to two years. If probation is completed satisfactorily, the charges are dismissed.

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