Traffic stop allegedly yields 595 bags of suspected heroin
Two Butler County women remain behind bars on felony drug charges stemming from a vehicle search that turned up nearly 600 bags of suspected heroin in Butler Township, authorities said.
Deianera E. McEathron, 25, of Lyndora, and Dakota L. Martinez, 30, of East Butler, are facing hearings next week following their arrests Jan. 20 by the Butler County Drug Task Force.
During their investigation, which spanned a little more than a month, officers obtained a sealed search warrant for the defendants and a 2011 Mercedes that the two women were believed to be occupying, county detectives said.
Martinez is the primary driver of the car, investigators said, but neither she nor McEathron own it.
On Jan. 20, the task force and Butler Township police conducted a traffic stop on the car on Whitestown Road, investigators said. Martinez was identified as the driver, and McEathron was the front-seat passenger.
A man riding in the back seat was arrested on a bench warrant, but he was not charged in the drug investigation.McEathron told officers they were “coming from Pittsburgh and had gone there to purchase heroin,” according to court documents. She allegedly admitted there were hundreds of stamp bags of heroin in the vehicle.A subsequent search of the car turned up 595 glassine bags of suspected heroin, a plastic container with prescription pills and drug-packaging materials.Investigators said the evidence seized was “indicative of heroin trafficking,” documents said.District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned both defendants on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.McEathron and Martinez are in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bond and $50,000 bond, respectively. Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for Thursday. Online court records did not indicate if either defendant has an attorney.At the time of McEathron's arrest, she was free on a combined $75,000 bail in connection with two unrelated Butler police arrests last year. Both of those cases are pending.Police said they found her with at least 60 stamp bags of suspected heroin following a Sept. 20 traffic stop on Hansen Avenue in the city. She also had assorted prescription medication.A search of the vehicle that McEathron was driving turned up about 500 new and unused stamp bags and other drug contraband. Officers also found her with $3,260.She is charged with felony and misdemeanor drug possession.Two months earlier, police said they found McEathron with more than 200 stamp bags of suspected heroin, prescription pills and other contraband following a suspected drugged driving crash July 13 at Hansen Avenue and Pillow Street.She is charged with felony drug possession and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
