Three snared in Lower Chi drug probe
LOWER CHICHESTER » Neighbor complaints coupled with a previous drugrelated incident involving a Summit Avenue man spurred the search last week of his Linwood home — which resulted in his arrest, the arrest of a woman who also resides at the house, and the confiscation of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and suspected heroin, according to police.
Arrested Aug. 9, Joel Long, 37, and Helishia Jones, 26, both of the 1400 block of Summit Avenue, were preliminarily arraigned Aug. 10 on charges including possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver; possession of a controlled substance; use or possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of instrument of crime; and conspiracy to the four aforementioned charges.
Another man who was described as a third target in the investigation, 21-year-old James English, of the same Summit Avenue address, remained at large as of late Tuesday afternoon, according to township Police Sgt. Lawrence Moore. English is facing the same charges.
It was about 6 a.m. on Aug. 9 when Lower Chichester police and members of the Delaware County Drug Task Force arrived at the Summit Avenue residence, armed with a search warrant.
“We had some complaints, and there was a previous arrest made at the house,” Moore said.
When investigators entered the residence, they found Long in the living room.
Long, according to court records, is also facing charges of possession with the intent to deliver or manufacture, use or possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct for an incident that occurred in June.
According to Moore, Jones, who told authorities she is employed by a day care facility in Chester, was reportedly at work when investigators arrived with the search warrant.
“She came to the police station soon after we cleared the house,” he said.
English, who also was reportedly at work, repeatedly told authorities he would surrender on the charges, but has failed to do so, Moore said.
According to the probable cause affidavit authored by Lower Chichester Police Patrolman Matthew Jackson, the following items were recovered during the home search:
• In a drawer next to the oven in the kitchen was a box containing about 100 new and unused blue glassine bags commonly used to package heroin. Also inside the box was a clear plastic sandwich bag containing a white powdery substance.
• Above the stove on top of the kitchen cabinets was a ceramic plate with drug residue, a small plastic spoon and a small piece of cardboard. Under the plate was a credit card in the name of James English. Also found was a large plastic bag containing several other bags – some of the bags contained marijuana residue.
• In the bottom drawer of the oven was a shoe box that contained cash – 10 $20 bills, 1 $50 bill, 11 $10 bills and four $1 bills. Also found was a loaded 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun.
• On the second floor, next to a bed, was a purple plastic container with three sandwich bags containing marijuana. On the floor next to the bed was a red ceramic plate with a small clear, baggie containing a white power, a razor blade and a small tube with a white residue on the plate. The white power later fieldtested positive for cocaine. On top of a dresser was a plastic bag containing new and unused bags with a clover printed on the outside.
• A dresser in the master bedroom contained a brown lunch bag that contained a loaded magazine with 9 mm bullets, along with a box of 9 mm Luger bullets.
According to Moore, while the amounts of recovered marijuana and cocaine were field-tested, amounts of suspected heroin were not field tested due to concerns of it potentially being laced with deadly fentanyl — an opioid so strong it can be absorbed into the body by mere contact with the skin.
“We sent it away to the lab,” along with the other evidence for further testing, Moore said.
Also found inside the residence was mail to that address in the name of Jones, Long and English, the affidavit states.
Following the preliminary arraignments, both Long and Jones were remanded to the county prison in lieu of bail, which was set at 10 percent of $100,000 each. Jones was freed on Aug. 11 after posting bail, while Long remained in custody, according to online court records. Both are listed to appear Aug. 24 for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Nicholas S. Lippincott, whose court in Upper Providence is designated for county drug cases.
Anyone with information regarding English’s whereabouts is asked to contact Lower Chichester police at 610-485-2760 or 911.