Large police presence in morning arrest on Union Street

October 1, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

This post was updated at 1:45 p.m.

The Vermont State Police Drug Task Force announced this afternoon that their Tactical Services Unit conducted a search warrant operation at a home in Waterbury this morning.

Police along Union Street on Thursday morning. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

“The search warrant stemmed from a months-long drug investigation conducted by detectives with the Vermont Drug Task Force into the distribution of narcotics in the Washington County area,” the task force news release stated.

This morning, a large police presence was in place on Union Street from around 6 a.m. until just before 9 a.m. It’s not clear if a helicopter circling the area at that time was part of the operation.

Vermont State Police later issued a press release saying they had made an arrest in a case connected with a Sept. 23 incident on Stowe Street. According to the state police press release from Trooper Michael Maldonado, Ashley Brooks, 42, of Northfield, was scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in Washington Superior Court Criminal Division in Barre to answer to a charge of possession of cocaine.

Police say Brooks was a passenger in a vehicle on Stowe Street in Waterbury on Sept. 23. When that vehicle was seized and searched, drugs were found, police said. Brooks was located at a residence on lower Union Street in Waterbury and police made her arrest this morning. 

The driver in the Sept. 23 incident was Shaka Joseph Africa, 36, of Waterbury, who pleaded not guilty on Sept. 24 in Washington County criminal court to a felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor count of violating conditions of release. 

According to a Times Argus report on that case, Africa faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the cocaine possession charge. A habitual offender enhancement was added to his proceedings because he has at least three prior felony convictions. Africa is currently being held without bail at Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury. 

In its Thursday afternoon news release, the Vermont Drug Task Force thanked the Vermont State Police, Vermont Highway Patrol, Bennington, Franklin, and Washington County Sheriff’s Departments, Morristown and Hartford Police Departments, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their assistance with the investigation that led to today’s arrest.

This post will be updated when more information is available.