Over 900 bags of suspected heroin seized; 2 men arrested
Alert patrol officers and an illegally parked car led to the arrest of two men and the seizure of more than 900 stamp bags of suspected heroin in Butler, authorities said.
Charged with felony drug possession in the weekend incident are Jase W. Charlton, 24, and William R. Porter IV, 39, both of Butler. The defendants are in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bond each.
Patrolmen Ryan Doctor and Dakota Fennell were on the job around 1:40 p.m. Sunday when they spotted a car unlawfully parked on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building on the 400 block of West North Street, Butler police said.
Fennell recognized Porter, who was in the front passenger seat, from his past involvement with drugs, according to charging documents.The patrolmen held back and surveilled the defendant, watching him leave the vehicle with a backpack. They eventually approached the suspect after he returned to the car.Porter told the officers that the car belonged to a friend when they advised him about the improperly parked vehicle. They noticed the defendant appeared “extremely nervous,” documents said, and he was sweating despite the below freezing air temperature.In time, he allegedly let the officers search him. Police said they found four suspected MDMA tablets, also known as ecstasy, in his jacket pocket.Police, in turn, made arrangements for the car to be towed, in anticipation of obtaining a search warrant for it. About that time, police said, Charlton appeared from the apartment building. He told them he owned the vehicle.The car was towed to the city fire department. Before the search warrant was obtained, documents said, Porter agreed to speak to police and he “admitted to having 12 bricks of heroin in the backpack (in) the vehicle.”A “brick” is a common street term for a group of 50 glassine bags containing opiates, such as heroin or fentanyl.
Porter claimed he was “working for” Charlton, police said, and told investigators that Charlton “has a number of people that sell narcotics for him.”Police said Porter provided them the names of his co-defendant's alleged associates.The warrant search of the car eventually turned up 18 bricks of suspected heroin in the backpack, documents said, along with several other stamp bags of the suspected drug under the front passenger seat.Also in the backpack, police said, was other contraband, including used/empty stamp bags and three bags of syringes.Porter was arraigned Sunday on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance.Additionally, he is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, all misdemeanors.Charlton also was arraigned Sunday on felony and misdemeanor counts of drug possession and a felony charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance.Preliminary hearings for the defendants are scheduled for Feb. 22. Online court records did not indicate if they have attorneys.Police said their investigation in the case is continuing.
