A local drug dealer is heading to prison for bringing over $16,000 worth of heroin into the Hudson Valley. Many of the sales took place near children.

On Thursday, 36-year-old Jason Brewster of Poughkeepsie was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Brewster pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance in August.

“Today’s sentencing sends a strong message that prison is the only future for those who deal in dangerous narcotics,” State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said.

Brewster was arrested in May following a 15-month manhunt. During an undercover investigation, Brewster sold over 260 grams of heroin to an informant. The street value of the drugs was over $16,000, officials say.

“Deadly drug traffickers like Jason Brewster fuel and exploit the opioid epidemic that’s tearing families apart across New York,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

Between Oct. 2015 and Feb. 2016, Brewster made six sales to the informant. He often sold heroin out of his home, with his children at the home, and around Poughkeeepise, including near the S.F.B. Morse Magnet School.

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