Domestic dispute ends with arrest of couple
JEFFERSON TWP — A call for a domestic situation ended Tuesday with a couple's arrest, after troopers say they found about 3 pounds of marijuana at a mobile home on McCalip Farm Lane.
Among the bags, jars and containers filled with suspected marijuana at the home in Jefferson Township, investigators said, state police also found a 1-year-old child — the daughter of one of the defendants.
Colton J. Augustine, 23, and Ruth S. Guterry, 23, were arraigned on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and child endangerment.
They also were arraigned on misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Both defendants remain free on $25,000 bail each.
Charging documents show Augustine living at the mobile home and Guterry's address is in Cherry Township.
Police were called to the McCalip Farm Lane home about 11:30 a.m. for an apparent domestic dispute there.
Guterry answered the door, documents said. Augustine, who she identified as her boyfriend, was already gone. She told police that they had been arguing but the fight never got physical.
Trooper Philip Treadway smelled marijuana coming from the home, documents said, and he and another officer subsequently searched the residence.
The troopers noticed evidence of what appeared to be marijuana and related contraband. Police said Guterry handed over two glass containers with suspected marijuana inside.
Documents said her toddler daughter was also in the home. She told the troopers that Augustine makes and sells “dabs,” according to a police affidavit.Dabs are waxy or solid, concentrates of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, They are produced by using a solvent, typically butane, to extract the THC. The end product is a potent oil commonly referred to as wax, honey or “budder.”Shortly after noon, Augustine returned home. Police said he acknowledged the marijuana was his but he would say no more to them.The couple was arrested and District Judge Sue Haggerty later issued police a search warrant for the residence and vehicles there.The items recovered, according to an inventory of seized property returned with the warrant, included Ziploc bags and jars with processed marijuana, two jars of edible marijuana and a container with 78 marijuana cigarettes.Additionally, documents said, troopers found a box filled with a dozen glass containers of THC wax, additional containers with THC wax, cannabis oil, a digital scale, bongs, smoking pipes and marijuana grinders.Also taken was a cell phone, laptop computer and a credit card reader.In all, police said, they seized an estimated 3 pounds of marijuana.Preliminary hearings for the defendants are set for March 21 at Haggerty's office in Saxonburg.Online court records did not indicate if they have attorneys. Neither could be reached for comment Wednesday.
