CLEARFIELD – A Philadelphia man recently found guilty of selling drugs was given a lengthy state prison sentence in Clearfield County Court.
Vernon Duncan, 27, 1526 W. Louden St., Philadelphia was sentenced by Judge Paul Cherry to a total of 19 to 38 years in state prison. He was fined $40,019 plus costs.
Duncan had been found guilty of all 33 counts against him: seven counts each of criminal conspiracy/delivery of a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance, criminal conspiracy/intentional possession of a controlled substance, intentional possession of a controlled substance and four counts of criminal use of communication facility, criminal conspiracy/possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of drug paraphernalia after a trial in August.
Prior to sentencing District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. noted that this case involved a lot of drugs and a number of guns. The charges were the result of an investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and the Clearfield County Drug Task Force, which began in February.
His co-defendant, Damon Seldon, 30, of DuBois, also was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy/possession with intent to deliver marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Cherry gave him six months to one year in jail and two years consecutive probation. He was fined $250 plus costs, and he was ordered to complete drug and alcohol counseling.
Testimony in the three-day trial came from agents from the AG’s office and members of the Clearfield County Drug Task Force who set up controlled buys from Duncan at a residence at 102 Quarry Ave. in DuBois on Feb. 5, Feb. 14 and March 4. A search warrant was served on the apartment on March 5, where police uncovered 54 grams of cocaine, 150 grams of marijuana, firearms and numerous items of drug paraphernalia.
According to court records, Duncan was convicted of manufacture/delivery or possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in two cases in Philadelphia from 2005 and 2006.
In a previous interview regarding Duncan, Shaw said the agents did a “great job developing the case” and instead of arresting someone for selling marijuana, they continued with the investigation and were able to arrest someone “with weight”, adding that the goal is to keep large amounts of drugs off the streets. The street value of the drugs in this case was more than $10,000.