Man, 33, faces drug charges
ADAMS TWP — Cocaine, heroin, morphine pills and marijuana brownies were found following an Easter traffic stop on Route 228, police said.
Along with the suspected drugs, a search of a backpack in the car turned up thousands of dollars in currency. Adams Township police arrested the alleged dealer, David A. Battle Jr., 33, of Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Battle, a four-time felon, was a backseat passenger in a 2000 Buick Century that Patrolman Christopher Thiel stopped for speeding shortly after midnight Sunday at Route 228 and Mars Valencia Road.
Police at the car noticed what appeared to be drug contraband in the opened glove box as well as multiple pill bottles in the driver’s unzipped purse that was on her lap, according to court documents.
The driver gave her consent for officers to look through the car. Police said the search of the front and back seats turned up drugs and contraband.
A backpack in the trunk netted a bigger find, police said. Investigators believe Battle owns the backpack and contents.
The bag contained 12.5 grams of cocaine, 2.7 grams of heroin, 21 morphine sulfate pills and two marijuana brownies, documents said.
Two wads of currency, each containing $1,000, were also found in the backpack.
Police said Battle gave officers a bogus name after the traffic stop. But while searching the backpack, the officers found a piece of paper with the defendant’s name on it.
He refused to speak to police following his arrest.
District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned Battle on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and false identification to law enforcement authorities.
He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail following arraignment.
Butler County Court records showed he has three prior felony drug convictions and another felony for disarming a police officer.
