City drug raid nabs 3 suspects
Three men were arrested on drug charges Thursday after a narcotics search warrant was executed at a home in Butler.
James Lawrence Francis, 23, of Butler, Shayne Alan Lipka, 22, of Butler, and Jesse James George, 21, of Rimersburg, were arrested by members of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit and Butler County Drug Task Force after the warrant was executed at 119 Heim Avenue, a duplex where Francis and Lipka live.
Officers entered the home at 6 a.m. and encountered Lipka and George, who were arrested and removed from the residence, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by police.
Francis wasn't found in the home, but officers discovered that a door in the basement leading into 121 Heim Avenue, the other half of the duplex, appeared to have been forced open and was ajar, according to the affidavit.The police strike team used the loudspeaker on the unit's armored vehicle to order Francis to exit through the front door. Officers saw Francis through a window, entered the home and took Francis into custody.In a safe located in the entryway, which police believe was being used as a partial living area, police said they found seven bags of suspected crystal methamphetamine containing a total of about 3.2 ounces, a digital scale, $3,241 in cash including $220 in prerecorded funds from the task force, seven boxes of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition, a Black Rain Ordinance AR-15 rifle with a scope and light/laser device, a JTS 12-gauge shotgun, Taurus .44 magnum revolver loaded with six rounds, a box containing assorted packaging materials, six methamphetamine pipes and multiple attachments for the pipes and a box of .223-caliber ammunition.
In the entryway, police said they found a wallet containing Francis' Pennsylvania identification card and $220 in cash, including $10 in prerecorded funds from the task force, a receipt from the purchase of the .44 magnum revolver found in the safe, a white glass smoking device, three magazines for a .45-caliber handgun and six lose .45-caliber bullets.In the living room, officers reported finding two butane torches, a backpack containing lose ammunition and magazines for various firearms, a Smith and Wesson 9 mm handgun box, security cameras and hard drives for security cameras, glass methamphetamine smoking devices, suspected crystal methamphetamine, a box for the shotgun found in the same containing a record of sale for George, a bag with five loaded gun magazines, a box of calibration weights for a scale, a wallet containing George's Pennsylvania identification, a bag of various paraphernalia and other items.All three men were charged with felony counts of possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, criminal conspiracy to possess with intent to manufacture or deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.Bail for Lipka and George was set at $100,000.Francis was additionally charged with criminal trespass. He was committed to the county prison in lieu of $250,000 bail.Francis was arrested July 20 by state police on a warrant from city police for allegedly pulling a handgun during a confrontation with another man apparently over the revving of a motorcycle on a city street June 29.State police arrested Francis in Summit Township after seeing him driving a pickup truck on Route 422 and took him to the Butler police station, where police said they found 42.64 grams of suspected methamphetamine, $2,828 and a digital scale. He was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.City police charged Francis with possessing a firearm with a carry license, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, driving with a suspended license and disorderly conduct from the June 29 incident.
