Jamie Howell

A Butler man held in the State Correctional Facility in Camp Hill was sentenced to the state intermediate punishment program in Butler County Court on Wednesday.

Jamie D. Howell, 48, was sentenced to 24 months of the program, followed by 24 months of state probation by county Judge Timothy McCune.

Howell previously pleaded guilty to two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and one count of receiving stolen property on May 9.

He was transferred to the state facility and later determined to qualify for the state program, prompting the sentence Wednesday.

Howell was initially charged with felony possession of firearm prohibited, alter/obliterate mark of identification, receiving stolen property, and five counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance; five misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one count of possession of marijuana and possession drug paraphernalia after an incident at 604 W. New Castle St. on Oct. 27, 2016.

Butler County Drug Task Force detectives filed the charges after a search warrant was conducted on the home and they found three bags of crack cocaine, a small amount of marijuana, and a semiautomatic Ruger 9 mm pistol with a partially obliterated serial number that was reported stolen from Philadelphia.

Also found were numerous items of drug paraphernalia including scales and packaging materials, a box of .22 LR round, a semiautomatic Ruger 10-22 rifle with a detached loaded magazine and a wallet that held ID cards of Howell.

Howell's vehicle was later found at a North Chestnut Street residence. The vehicle was later pulled over and Howell was arrested as a person not to possess a firearm.

He was searched and found to have three suboxone strips, 15 Alprazolam tablets, two bags of crack cocaine, one bag of THC wax, two bags of marijuana and several items of drug paraphernalia, police said.

Howell was arraigned and bail was set at $75,000, and he was held in the Butler County Prison.