Upper Moreland woman faces jail time for illegal drug activity in Horsham

An Upper Moreland woman has admitted to illegal drug activity in Horsham and faces up to 23 months of court supervision.

Erica Louise Sangree, 31, of the 4200 block of Thistlewood Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after she pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, specifically 188.7 grams of the drug, in connection with a September 2020 incident at a hotel in Horsham.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Steven T. O’Neill as part of a plea agreement. Sangree will receive credit for the 145 days she spent in an inpatient treatment program or in jail while awaiting court action on the charges.

The judge said Sangree is eligible for the jail’s work release program while she completes the jail sentence.

An investigation began on Sept. 14, 2020, when Horsham Township police responded to the Candlewood Suites located on Business Center Drive for reports of a suspicious person and a disturbance, according to a criminal complaint filed by Horsham police officers Anna Kumor and Andrew Darcy. Hotel staff directed police to a specific room.

“We knocked and announced our presence multiple times. We could hear rustling and movement in the room which was immediately apparent to indicate that the room was occupied,” officers wrote in the arrest affidavit, adding officers used a key to enter the room.

Upon entering the room, officers made contact with Sangree and several others.

“Throughout the room, officers were able to see in plain view several items of drugs and drug paraphernalia,” Kumor and

Darcy wrote in the criminal complaint, adding they identified “a cloudy crystal like substance of suspected methamphetamine.”

Authorities seized more than 160 grams of suspected methamphetamine, scales and drug packaging materials, according to the criminal complaint.

“Sangree stated that all the items belonged to her as well as all the items in the room,” police alleged in court papers. “Based off of my training and experience these quantities are not consistent with personal use. These items of packaging material, the multiple scales, multiple cellphones, as well as the large quantities of drugs and cash indicate that the defendant is possessing with the intent to deliver narcotics.”

Other charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed against Sangree as part of the plea agreement.