LIBERTY, NY — Raymond Copeland, 37, of Liberty, was sentenced on February 24 in Sullivan County Court to 10 years in state prison. Copeland admitted to selling cocaine to an undercover police officer on February 23, 2013 on Edgar Street, and possessing a loaded handgun on March 7, 2013 at his residence on Lake Street.

Sullivan County District Attorney Jim Farrell said that Copeland was arrested after an investigation by the Village of Liberty Police Department into his trafficking of cocaine in the village. Village police executed a no-knock search warrant at Copeland’s residence and seized over an eighth of an ounce of cocaine, a stolen and loaded .22 caliber Ruger handgun, drug paraphernalia, suboxone and marijuana. Police also seized approximately $650 in cash, three flat-screen televisions, an iPad and two laptop computers—all proceeds of Copeland’s drug dealing.

As part of the plea agreement, Copeland agreed to forfeit all of the property seized, and that property will be put to use by law enforcement. Copeland was sentenced as a second felony offender, having previously been convicted of robbery in 1997 in Orange County. Farrell said, “The Liberty police continue to be proactive in investigating crime in the Village of Liberty and worked very hard in this case to bring Copeland to justice.”