WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. — A drug treatment counselor has been arrested and charged with multiple drug offenses after allegedly selling crack cocaine in Dutchess County, authorities announced.
Alvis J. Lewis Jr., 54, of Wappingers Falls, was identified by the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office Drug Task Force as a narcotics dealer operating in the Wappinger and Poughkeepsie areas. Investigators say Lewis sold crack cocaine on multiple occasions while working overnight shifts at an in-patient drug rehabilitation facility in Carmel, N.Y.
The investigation began after community members reported suspicious activity involving a person selling drugs under multiple aliases. Surveillance confirmed Lewis’s employment at the rehab center and his involvement in drug sales.
On the night of January 14, 2025, Drug Task Force agents, assisted by the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Service Unit (SWAT), arrested Lewis during a traffic stop in the Town of Fishkill. A subsequent search of his residence on Sergeant Palmateer Way led to the discovery of crack cocaine packaged for distribution.
Lewis faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree with intent to sell, a Class B felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, a Class C felony.
He was arraigned in Village of Wappingers Falls Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center without bail. Additional charges are expected as the investigation continues.