A sweep conducted by authorities in Punxsutawney have conducted a sweep for drug activity throughout Clearfield and Jefferson counties, according to local news. Pennsylvania State Police have worked in conjunction with the Jefferson County Drug Task Force and the Troop C Vice Unit to take down what they believe to be a widespread drug ring. As part of this sweep, some 16 people now face serious drug charges.
Police say the efforts toward this sweep have been progressing throughout 2018, with Troop C investigating several different cases involving the distribution of illegal drugs categorized as dangerous. While the report did not list the types of drugs the task force was targeting, Troop C was able to gather arrest warrants for 20 different people. All of these individuals are believed to be guilty of a myriad of drug crimes.
The ages of the accused range from 16 to 43, and of the 20 original suspects, 16 were arrested during the sweep. The details of their individual arrests were not included in the report, but the charges filed against these individuals include possession of a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication device, child endangerment, possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy. The four individuals still suspected of these crimes have had their personal information circulated by police in an effort to apprehend them.
Drug investigations of this type are notoriously susceptible to human error. In order to find the defendants guilty of the drug charges filed against them, Pennsylvania prosecutors will have to provide compelling evidence of their complicity in criminal activity in each individual case. In the meantime, each individual will be represented by his or her own criminal defense attorney, who will review the facts of their independent cases, including arrest records, to determine how best to build custom defenses for each accused person.
