New Castle man headed to court in drug case
The defense lawyer of a New Castle man accused of drug distribution asked a district judge Monday to drop one of the charges against his client after citing a lack of evidence.
Ahmad H. Fitzpatrick, 27, is out of county jail on a $50,000 bond after he was arrested Oct. 9 with another man at a West Brady Street apartment in Butler. He was arrested on felony charges of delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. Additionally, he faces a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Fitzpatrick's lawyer, Kelvin Morris, asked District Judge William Fullerton to drop the paraphernalia charge during Monday's preliminary hearing. Fullerton denied the request and moved Fitzpatrick's case to the common pleas court.
Butler County Drug Task Force opened its investigation in July. Officers said authorities made multiple controlled drug buys of crack cocaine at the Butler apartment over the course of the investigation.
Both Fitzpatrick and Brian K. Murdock, 48, who lives at the apartment, were home when officers, assisted by the county's emergency services unit, executed a search warrant shortly before 9 p.m.
The search turned up three small plastic bags of suspected cocaine belonging to Murdock, three digital scales and three cellphones, authorities said. The items were seized along with $398 found in Fitzpatrick's pants.
Detective John Johnson, a member of the task force, testified Monday that among the money seized from Fitzpatrick were marked bills used by authorities to make controlled drug buys. Johnson explained the bills were given to a confidential informant, who in turn bought drugs at the West Wayne Street apartment.
Wilson noted during the hearing that Fitzpatrick didn't live in the apartment, and therefore he “didn't own anything there.” The defense attorney further argued that the drug paraphernalia — a weight scale — “was in the residence of another person,” and thus not the property of his client.
Assistant District Attorney Amanda Scarpo countered that it could be assumed the scale was used by Fitzpatrick in the distribution of drugs.
Murdock's preliminary hearing was held earlier this month, and all of his charges bound over for court. He remains in the Butler County prison on $50,000 bail.
