Lehigh County Man Arrested Near Holland Tunnel Was On Anti-Drug Mission
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) — Less than 30 minutes before Port Authority Police pulled over a not-so-inconspicuous pickup for a crack in the windshield, the driver 50-year-old John Cramsey posted a cryptic message to his Facebook page.
"Going to a hotel to extract a 16-year-old girl," he said. "Her friend died of another heroin overdose. I'm bringing her out of NY today and anybody else that wants to go home too…"
John Cramsey of Zionsville, Dean Smith, 53, of Whitehall, and Kimberly Arendt, 29, of Lehighton were stopped while driving with a cache of weapons and apparently on their way to try to help a teenage girl involved with drugs in Brooklyn, New York.
Cramsey operates a gun range outside Allentown and has become active in the fight against the heroin crisis in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley since his 20-year-old daughter died of an overdose in February. He is a member of a group called "Enough is Enough".
"When I heard it was my little girl, my heart hit the floor," Cramsey stated on a Youtube video.
Lyn Baker, who started the group with Cramsey, said that the group has helped dozens of drug addicts since earlier this year, including going to hotels and homes to help.
But Cramsey's friend Chris Pranzo is still shocked by his methods.
"I was surprised he crossed state lines with firearms," said Chris Pranzo, Cramsey's friend.
But Pranzo says he isn't surprised Cramsey was trying to save someone addicted to heroin.
"He's recently lost his daughter and he's rededicated his life to stopping the heroin problem in the Lehigh Valley," he said. "[He's] extremely passionate. Again, willing to die to save somebody's life and to stop the heroin problem. Not only in the Lehigh Valley, but everywhere. He wants it to come to an end because it is a huge problem."
One of the people told investigators that they were headed to Brooklyn to "rescue" a teenage girl before they were stopped in Jersey City, according to a law enforcement official.
Baker said she spoke with Cramsey around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday as he was getting ready to go through the tunnel and that he asked her to start arranging for the girl to get into a detox or rehabilitation facility.
Minutes later, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police reported that they spotted the colorful Dodge van with the name of Cramsey's gun range painted on it and pulled it over after spotting a cracked windshield and things dangling from the rearview mirror, according to a criminal complaint.
Police said they recovered a semi-automatic military-style rifle, a shotgun, five handguns, high capacity magazines and other ammunition, two tactical vests and three helmets, according to the complaint. It was unclear what, if anything, the weapons had to do with their plans. Some of the weapons were loaded, authorities said. Police also say they found less than 50 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
A Port Authority photo, obtained by media outlets, also showed a bag with the words "Firearms Instructor" and box with the phrase "Shoot Your Local Heroin Dealer" in the vehicle.
Cramsey and his accomplices, also from the Lehigh Valley remain in prison on weapons and marijuana charges. There bail has been set at $75,000 each.
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