Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Two charged in heroin sales
A man and a woman were arrested following an investigation by the Chester County Municipal Drug Task Force and several police departments into the distribution of heroin in West Chester.
Erica Colombo, 23, of Philadelphia, and Zhyair Thompson, 25, of the 100 block of New Street in West Chester, face a series of drug charges.
Both Thompson and Colombo were charged with three counts of delivery of heroin, three
counts of possession of heroin, three counts of dealing in unlawful activities and three counts of drug paraphernalia. They were both arraigned and sent to Chester County Prison after failing to post bail.
According to a recent report by the DEA’s Philadelphia Division, West Chester is second only to Coatesville in the number of drug overdose deaths in the past three years. There were 60 drug overdose deaths in the past three years from people living in zip codes in Coatesville, and 29 from people living in the West Chester 19380 zip code, the report stated. In all, 547 people in Chester County died of drug overdoses in the past three years, the report said.
Police reports from across the region:
WEST CHESTER
On Aug. 11, at 12:22 a.m., West Chester Police officers observed Patrick Stofflet, 29, of West Chester, jump on the hood of a vehicle in the
50 block of North Walnut Street. Stofflet was taken into custody and transported to West Goshen Police Station. During the intake process, Stofflet allegedly assaulted one of the police officers and damaged a police vehicle. Stofflet was processed and transported to Chester County Prison for arraignment. Stofflet was committed to jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail.
On Aug. 11, at 6:22 p.m., West Chester Police responded to 315 North Wawaset Road, East Bradford Township, for a report of an armed person who had allegedly pointed an AR-15 assault rifle at another person on the property and threatened to shoot him. Marvin Valenzuela-Lucero, 31, of West Chester was taken into custody. An AR-15 was located inside the residence. The defendant was processed and transported to Chester County Prison and held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
On July 29, at 12:32 a.m., West Chester Police officers were dispatched to the 700 block of South High Street for a report of a vehicle that crashed into a
tree. Officers made contact with the operator, Trevino Porter, 19, of New Castle, Del., who stated he fell asleep while driving. Officers located a small plastic bag of marijuana situated in the front seat of Porter’s vehicle. Porter was found to be under the influence and he was taken into custody for driving under the Influence and possession of marijuana.
On July 29, at 4:16 a.m., West Chester Police were dispatched to 105 East Chestnut Street for a domestic dispute. Officers made contact with a Hispanic female who stated that she was assaulted. The victim stated that her former boyfriend Jose GelacioVictoria, 24, of West Chester entered the apartment and proceeded to assault her. Gelacio-Victoria allegedly held the victim against her will and would not allow her to leave the apartment. The victim was able to get away from Gelacio-Victoria, lock herself in a bathroom and call 911, which prompted GelacioVictoria to leave the apartment. An arrest warrant was obtained and Gelacio was taken into custody at 8:19 p.m. Gelacio-Victoria was sent to the Chester County Prison and is
awaiting his preliminary hearing.
On Aug. 8, at 12:39 a.m., William Ashby, 23, of King of Prussia, drove his black Jeep Grand Cherokee the wrong way in the 50 and 100 blocks of East Gay Street through the construction zone in the 100 block. He was stopped by police in the 50 block of North Matlack Street. Ashby was subsequently arrested for DUI and driving the wrong way on a one way roadway.
WEST GOSHEN POLICE
»On July 23, police were dispatched to 802 Paoli Pike for a disturbance. The caller reported that his roomate, Ryan Patrick Coppola, 34, threatened to shoot him during a verbal altercation. Police were able to convince Coppola to come out of his room. He exited his room and was actively huffing from an aerosol spray can, police said. Coppola was taken into custoday and transported to the hospital for a medical evaluation. He was charged with terroristic threats, resisting arrested and illegal use of solvents and noxious substances.