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Drug charges filed

Grandmother accused of selling

BUFFALO TWP — The state attorney general’s office on Tuesday filed fresh charges against a grandmother accused of trafficking large amounts of marijuana from her home on Kepple Road.

Court records filed by the attorney general’s office allege Candace Kelly, 64, had been selling as much as 100 pounds of marijuana a year since 2009.

According to the court records, Kelly is accused of receiving three shipments of 30 to 40 pounds of marijuana per year, which she allegedly sold for $3,400 per pound.

Police allegedly seized from Kelly’s home 64 pounds of marijuana, as well as pounds of psychedelic mushrooms and hashish and $392,781 in currency.

The bulk of the money, $300,000, was allegedly found in duffel bag under Kelly’s bed. Investigators allege in court documents that Kelly had the money to pay the supplier for marijuana that already had been delivered.

Felony and misdemeanor drug charges initially were filed against Kelly in October by state police and the Butler County district attorney. But within a month, the district attorney’s office withdrew its case because “they (the AG’s office) assumed the prosecution,” said District Attorney Richard Goldinger.

Two months after the original charges were withdrawn, the case was presented to a grand jury on Dec. 16 in Pittsburgh.

According to a written statement by the attorney general’s office, the grand jury recommended these charges: possession with intent to deliver marijuana, possession with intent to deliver psilocybin mushrooms, possession of marijuana, possession of psilocybin mushrooms, criminal conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The case will be prosecuted in Butler County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Tomm Mutschler of the Attorney General’s Drug Strike Force Section.

Kelly was arraigned Tuesday by District Judge Sue Haggerty, who set bail at $100,000. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 5.

Kelly’s defense attorney, Warner Mariani of Pittsburgh, could not be reached for comment.

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