A Butler police officer recounted looking into an open door at a city home last week and noticing occupants “tossing” baggies of what appeared to be drugs onto a table.

A short time later, while walking down basement steps in the house, Patrolman Myles Bizub on Monday recalled seeing a man “discarding” baggies of more alleged drugs onto the floor.

Bizub's observations, which came in the form of testimony at a preliminary hearing, helped lead to a search warrant at the Elm Court home. Serving that warrant eventually led to the discovery of suspected crack cocaine, heroin, prescription pills, marijuana and about $8,500 in cash, and the arrest of four men.

District Judge Wayne Seibel ordered two of the defendants — Brandon D. McCaskill, 23, of Duquesne, and Isaiah Harden, 21, of McKeesport — held for trial on felony and misdemeanor drug possession and conspiracy charges.

Earlier that morning, Ross M. Cammisa, 35, the tenant at the house, waived his preliminary hearing on similar charges.

The hearing for the remaining defendant, Guy D. Wallar Jr., 20, of Pittsburgh, was continued. A new date has not been scheduled. He, too, faces similar charges.

McCaskill, Cammisa and Wallar remain in Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail each. Harden is jailed on $50,000 bail.

Bizub testified that he and other officers went to the home about 5 p.m. March 25, after police that same day received four complaints of suspected drug activity going on there.

Specifically, the officer told Harden's attorney, public defender Charles Nedz, the complaints reported “foot traffic in and out of that residence all day.”

Police initially found Cammisa outside near one of two doors. He was already wanted on a warrant in an unrelated drug case and was arrested.

He was searched and found with two empty stamp bags of suspected heroin in a pants pocket.

But something else caught Bizub's nose — the smell of burned marijuana. Cammisa admitted there were others inside smoking the drug.

Bizub peered in through an open side door, past the glass screen door, and saw several people tossing baggies onto a table in the living room.

He conceded to Nedz that he could not identify who was tossing the bags, nor could he say what was in the baggies. But he saw they contained a “white substance.”

Three officers went inside and noticed drug paraphernalia in the kitchen, They also found several people including McCaskill and Wallar, who were coming from a back bedroom.

Bizub eventually walked down to the basement and spotted Harden near a washing machine and laundry tub.

“He was discarding baggies of crack cocaine ... on the floor,” the officer testified.

Police detained everyone at the house and got a search warrant.

During a search of the home, officers seized at least five baggies of suspected crack. They also found 11 stamp bags of suspected heroin in the bedroom area from where they had first seen McCaskill and Wallar.

Bizub, during cross-examination by McCaskill's attorney, Brian Sichko of Pittsburgh, acknowledged that police are still awaiting test results of the suspected drugs from the state police crime lab.

At the station, police searched the defendants. Bizub said McCaskill had $2,328 in currency and Harden had $1,178 in cash and a baggie with multiple marijuana cigarettes.

Wallar was found with $5,002 in currency and five Xanax pills in a baggie.

Following testimony, Nedz and Sichko asked Seibel to dismiss the felony possession charges against their clients, arguing that there was a lack of evidence presented at the hearing.

But prosecutor Richard Bosco, a county assistant district attorney, said McCaskill and Harden were found in a house “literally full of narcotics” and where all the defendants collectively were holding more than $8,000 in cash.

Seibel, who was filling in for District Judge William Fullerton at the hearing, concurred with Bosco and held all charges.