Drug Bust Lands One Arrest, One at Large

An Oneonta man was arrested late Friday afternoon, while a woman is at large, following a six month narcotics investigation that was conducted by the Otsego county sheriff’s office criminal investigation division and the Oneonta Police Department Detective Bureau.

An investigation revealed that Christopher Leland Preston Root, 38, and his friend Marlee Ann Rickard, 35, both from Oneonta, allegedly entered into an agreement with other parties to possess and sell heroin.

They allegedly allowed the heroin to be sold and derived benefit from the narcotic drugs to be sold out of their residence in August 2012.

On Friday Feb. 15, the sheriff’s office and Oneonta Police Department responded to 6n 7th Street, Oneonta, in an attempt to arrest Root and Rickard. Neither party would answer the door. Investigators then obtained a warrant for arrest for them from Judge Lucy Bernier.

Root was arrested without incident on the warrant. He was arraigned by Judge Bernier and remanded to the Otsego County correctional facility without bail due to his three previous felony convictions.

If convicted, Root could face 15 years to life in prison due to his criminal history.

Deputies have been unable to locate Marlee Ann Rickard on the felony warrant and are asking for the public’s assistance in finding her.

She is a white female, 35 years of age is approximately 5 foot 3 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds and has reddish-brown hair and green eyes. If her whereabouts are known, please call the sheriff’s criminal investigation division at 607-547-4363 of their tip line at 607-547-1690. All calls are confidential.