Jon Shay

A Butler man already accused of helping to run a methamphetamine lab and breaking into a business garage is facing new charges.

In the latest charges against 36-year-old Jon R. Shay, state police said he was caught with 246 prescription pills last month when troopers nabbed him in Butler Township on arrest warrants in the previous cases.

Police found Shay around 12:30 p.m. Jan. 17 walking with another man, who also was subsequently charged.

A search of Shay turned up a Ziploc bag with an assortment of pills, including seroquel, bupropion, oxcarbazepine, guanfacine and buspirone, according to charging documents.

The defendant allegedly did not have prescriptions for all of the drugs.

Along with the pills, police said they seized suspected marijuana and eight marijuana pipes from Shay.

Police learned during the investigation that Shay was on Butler High School property without permission shortly before his arrest, Shay was arraigned Jan. 30 by District Judge Kevin O'Donnell on misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, possession of a small amount of marijuana and defiant trespass.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27 at O'Donnell's office in Butler Township. Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney in this case.

Richard J. Ealy, 28, of Butler Township, who was with Shay at the time of his arrest, is also charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, defiant trespass and disorderly conduct. He was charged by summons.

Shay has been in the Butler County Prison since his arrest in the two prior cases state police filed in early January.

Police said Shay and three other men are linked to the break-in of a trucking company on Station Road in Mercer Township on July 20, 2019.

Among the estimated $40,000 in items stolen from the garage, police said, was a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a Yamaha all-terrain vehicle.

He is charged with burglary, trespass, theft and criminal mischief. Those charges are pending in county court.

Online court records indicate that Ryan Helsel, a public defender, is representing him in that case. Helsel did not return a call for comment Wednesday.

During that investigation, police said, troopers turned up evidence of a “one-pot” or “shake and bake” portable meth lab at Shay's former home on Penn West Way in Allegheny Township.

Police allege Shay was one of the cooks of the lab. Two other men are also charged in the meth lab investigation.

Shay is charged in the previous drug case with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, operating a meth lab and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges also are pending in county court.

He is being held in the county prison on a combined $165,000 bond.

“The commonwealth may have a difficult time proving Mr. Shay's involvement in this enterprise,” said Dennis McCurdy, Shay's court-appointed attorney in the meth lab case, Wednesday.