The Tyrone Borough Police Department has re-filed drug charges against a 19-year-old Tyrone man who was arrested during the Dec. 19 drug sweep, but eventually had his charges dropped.
There was no preliminary hearing as scheduled on Dec. 19 with District Magistrate Fred Miller for Paese, who was charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin, a felony, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of heroin. Magistrate Miller said the commonwealth did not disclose the reason as to why the charges against Paese was dropped.
Recently, Tyrone Borough Police Chief Joe Beachem re-filed the charges and magistrate Miller, feeling there was enough probable cause to schedule a new hearing, arraigned Paese and jailed the man in lieu of $6,000 straight bail. That hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Jan. 6 at Miller’s office.
According to the police affidavit of probable cause, at about 9 p.m. on Dec. 10, Beachem and patrolman Billy Mayes met with a confidential police informant behind the Choice Store on West Tenth Street in Tyrone. The confidential informant said that he or she could probably purchase heroin or crack cocaine at 1310 Blair Avenue.
Beachem said he then instructed the informant to meet with the officers at the Tyrone Police station. Once the informant arrived, he or she was strip searched with negative results for the presence of contraband, cash or controlled substances. Officers also searched the informant’s vehicle with negative results. The informant was then provided with $50 in recorded Drug Task Force funds.
Police said the informant arrived at the targeted residence at 9:27 p.m. A minute later, police said the informant left that location and drove to a Mario’s Pizza Palace, where he or she met up with Paese.
Police said the pair drove to a Blair Avenue residence, in which Pease entered and exited a moment later. Both then drove back to Mario’s Pizza Palace and Paese got out and walked east on 13th Street behind the pizza shop.
Police said the informant then drove back to the Tyrone Police Department and handed Beachem a clear plastic cover marked “TNT” which contained a waxpaper packet marked “Crazy Life.”
The informant and the vehicle were again searched with negative results.
The informant told police that he or she met the defendant in Mario’s Pizza Palace where the defendant told him or her that he could purchase heroin. The informant explained that he or she gave the defendant the $50 in Task Force funding and had the informant drive him to 1310 Blair Avenue where the defendant entered and returned with the suspected heroin and handed it to the informant. The informant then stated that he or she returned the defendant to the parking lot of Mario’s Pizza Palace.
Beachem said the suspected heroin did field test positive for the presence of heroin.
From mid-December’s sweep, seven other cases were scheduled to go to a preliminary hearing on Dec. 30; however, Miller granted continuances in each of the cases. They will be held on Jan. 6. Hearings are scheduled for Ronald Fink (2 cases), Tammala Ann Mills (3 cases), and Shane Allen Julian (2 cases).
