Gunnison man charged for heroin distribution

Scheduled for bond hearing January 14

[ By Katherine Nettles ]

A Gunnison man was arrested at his home on the morning of December 15 and charged with possession with the intent to distribute heroin, a class 2 felony, after police officers conducted a search warrant on his home and seized a large amount of heroine and multiple other illegal substances.

Daniel Gerrity, age 43, was suspected of distributing illegal substances prior to his arrest. The search warrant executed on December 15 stemmed from two previous instances leading officers to suspect there were unlawful substances within the home on North Spruce Street in Gunnison.

An arrest affidavit from the Gunnison Police Department states that there had been a report from a third party in late November stating that Gerrity was a dealer of heroine in the area. The court has withheld the identity of the reporting party.
Then, on the morning of December 1, two officers with the Gunnison Police Department were making routine rounds when they observed a vehicle driving with an inoperable brake light in Gunnison. The routine traffic stop resulted in the arrest of Martin Gerrity, age 45, who reportedly initially claimed he was not using drugs and the numerous needles, various trace amounts of methamphetamine and heroin and the other paraphenelia in his car belonged to his girlfriend. Martin Gerrity was issued a ticket for driving a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful use of a controlled substance and operating a vehicle with a defective stop lamp. Martin Gerrity gave officers a home address on North Spruce Street in Gunnison, which matched the address given by the previous reporting party the month prior.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the home, which was signed by a judge on December 2. Officers executed the search warrant nearly two weeks later on December 15, at 9:20 a.m. Martin Gerrity was not present in the home at that time, but Daniel Gerrity was there and appeared to officers to be under the influence of drugs. He was transported to the Gunnison Valley Hospital for medical attention, and officers then searched the home and his car. The majority of items seized were found in his bedroom, including $1,471 in cash, 42 grams of suspected heroin, an unknown amount of methamphetamine, 100 suspected fentanyl pills and “numerous paraphernalia related items necessary for distribution, including packaging, scales, funnels and possible ledgers,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Gerrity was released from the hospital and transported to the Gunnison County Detention Facility, where he was processed and given his charges. He was released two days later after posting $2,500 in bond. Daniel Gerrity is scheduled to appear in court on January 14 at 8:59 a.m. for a bond hearing, and Martin Gerrity is scheduled to appear in court for his misdemeanor on the same date and time.