EMPORIUM (EC) — Five Emporium residents were arrested recently through three separate investigations that used intergovernmental cooperation.
Richard Douglas Housler, 33, was recently arrested on charges stemming from a November 2015 sale of a controlled substance to a confidential informant working with the drug task force.
Housler is accused of selling three suboxone strips to the informant for $60 at his home on Sycamore Street in Emporium. Suboxone is prescribed to individuals attempting to stop using heroin and other opioids.
When a search warrant was executed by police, a number of other items were found, including fentanyl patch wrappers and a grinder and straw coated with a powdery substance. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid pain reliever.
Housler appeared for a preliminary hearing this week in front of Magisterial District Judge Barry Brown, wherein felony charges of possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia were waived for court.
He was released in lieu of $25,000 unsecured bail and ordered to return for formal arraignment in front of Judge Richard Masson on July 19.
A confidential informant also assisted in the arrest of Victor Lee Elliott, 35, of Fifth Street in Emporium.
Elliott is accused of selling one-eighth of marijuana for $50 in May of 2015. The exchange is said to have been arranged via cell phone. The informant was working with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Elliott has been charged with felony counts of possession with the intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. June 30.
Meanwhile, a state parole agent tipped local officers off to the presence of drugs at another residence.
Police responding to the report received verbal consent to search a residence on Hillcrest Drive and arrested Michael James Hallowell, 24; Brianna Shacree Hallowell, 21; and Dona Darlene Burnside, 54, all residents of the home, were arrested and charged separately for various offenses related to the possession of marijuana.
Michael Hallowell was charged with a felony count of possession with intent to deliver and a lesser charge of possession of paraphernalia; Brianna Hallowell and Burnside both face misdemeanor charges of possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
An affidavit of probable cause in the case states that officers were alerted to the possession of drugs and paraphernalia at a residence visited by a state parole agent checking on Michael Hallowell. Verbal and written consent were received for the search, and residents told police where to find some of the seized items, which included marijuana and several smoking devices.
All three defendants are scheduled to appear at preliminary hearings on July 14. Michael Hallowell will appear at 10 a.m.; Brianna Hallowell at 10:30 a.m.; and Burnside at 11 a.m.
