Linwood Wawa clerk charged as heroin dealer
An undercover sting resulted in the arrest of an Upper Chichester woman on charges of allegedly selling heroin four times to a police officer between Feb. 15 and March 2.
Arrested Thursday, Stephanie Hughes, 29, of the 2100 block of Chichester Avenue, was preliminarily arraigned on charges including possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver, drug possession and possession or use of drug paraphernalia. She was released on $50,000 unsecured bail, set by Magisterial District Judge Dawn Vann, according to online court records.
The first undercover transaction on Feb. 15, shortly after 4:30 p.m., occurred in the parking lot of a Wawa in Lower Chichester where the suspect was working as a clerk, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Hughes’ arrest. The store is located at 1439 Market St.
“Stephanie … exited the store and met with the undercover officer,” the affidavit states. In exchange for $50, she was described as handing six blue glassine bags of powder to the officer. Of the six bags, one was later field-tested and showed a positive reaction to the presence of heroin.
Hughes was arrested Thursday, March 2, following a meeting with an officer in the parking lot of the Family Dollar at 1507 Market St., Lower Chichester. At that time, she sold 14 bags of heroin to the officer for $90, according to the affidavit. After the exchange, officers converged on the scene, and took Hughes into custody. Just prior to her arrest, Hughes was seen by police standing in front of the Wawa store at 1439 Market St. She then entered a tan Oldsmobile Alero and drove directly to the Family Dollar Store. At the time Hughes was apprehended, police also arrested a 31-year-old Upper Chichester man, known to police as a heroin user, who had just purchased heroin from Hughes, according to the affidavit. Drug possession charges are pending against him, police said.
A joint investigation by Detective John Montgomery of the Upper Chichester Police Department and Officer Matthew Jackson of the Lower Chichester Police Department, both members of the Delaware County Drug Task Force, was initiated about a month ago in response to complaints of drug dealing in the 2100 block of Chichester Avenue.
“In the weeks after receiving the complaints, Hughes met with an undercover officer at four different locations, including the parking lot of the Wawa at 1439 Market St., in Lower Chichester, and the parking lot of the Dunkin Donuts at 2343 Chichester Ave. in Upper Chester,” according to the Upper Chichester Police Department. “Two of the four transactions between Hughes and the officer occurred within 1,000 feet of the Chichester Middle School.”
At the time of her arrest, police confiscated a cell phone and $182 cash from Hughes, in addition to the $90 given to her by the undercover officer.
According to the affidavit, Hughes sold police a total of 33 baggies containing powder over the course of the four transactions: six on Feb. 15 and Feb. 21; seven on Feb. 27; and 14 on March 2. Following each transaction, the powder inside one of the bags was field tested and showed a positive reaction to the presence of heroin.
While Lower Chichester Police Chief Thomas Gaspari praised the undercover actions that resulted in the alleged drug dealer’s arrest, he was appalled by some of the particulars of the case.
“I think it’s pathetic that someone who is working the counter at Wawa is dealing drugs,” Gaspari said Friday. “We are an oldstyle Wawa and have a lot of walk-up traffic, kids as well as adults. It’s pretty sad that you can go to Wawa and have someone come outside in a Wawa uniform and sell heroin.”
An attempt Friday to reach Wawa corporate regarding the status of Hughes employment was not successful. The manager at the Linwood store declined comment Friday afternoon, citing company protocol.
Hughes has a preliminary hearing listed for March 16 in Vann’s court. It was not immediately known if she retained an attorney.