CLEARFIELD – A Brockway woman pleaded guilty to drug charges during plea and sentencing court in Clearfield County.
Rebecca Jo Veltri, 25, 5252 Westville Rd., Brockway, an inmate of the jail, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, false identification to law enforcement and flight to avoid apprehension/trial/punishment. The charges stem from an incident in Curwensville on Sept. 21 when she and a man were found unconscious in a vehicle parked at Snappy’s convenience store.
Veltri was sentenced to 45 days to one year in jail and two years consecutive probation. She was fined $450 plus costs. She was ordered to complete 25 hours of community service and not to have any narcotics without written approval.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, when an officer arrived on scene, he found a woman in the driver’s seat and a man in the passenger’s seat. Both appeared to be unconscious. The vehicle’s headlights were still on, the keys were in the ignition and the vehicle was in park. A clerk at the store said they had been there for approximately one hour.
The officer knocked on the driver’s side window but the woman did not wake up. He then opened the driver’s side door and shook the driver. She was slumped over leaning toward the passenger.
Once she woke up, the officer asked if she was alright. She was very confused and disoriented as she tried to get out of the vehicle. He asked her to take the key out of the ignition and to give him her license. She woke the male passenger and advised him the police were there. The man was also confused and disoriented.
When she got out of the vehicle, the officer was able to see she was under the influence of some controlled substance.
The officer asked the man for two hand bags the woman had removed from her purse. Before turning them over, he shrugged. When the officer asked her what he would find in the bags, she started to cry and said “to be honest officer, you’ll find dope.” He asked what kind and she replied “heroin.”
After she gave him false names and birthdates, she was eventually identified as a Veltri. When this name was checked, the officer found she was wanted in Allegheny County on drug charges. He was advised that she could be armed and dangerous. Veltri was placed in handcuffs and put into the officer’s vehicle. Her male passenger agreed to a search of the vehicle, which revealed no weapons. He was advised that he was free to go.
The officer then looked into the hand bags and found several empty bags of heroin, a needle, five suspected bags of heroin, several unknown pills and $480.
In a second case, she pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and a summary. For this, she was given a concurrent three days to six month sentence. She was fined $1,035 plus costs. She must surrender her license, complete the DUI school and a drug/alcohol program.