CLEARFIELD – A New York man charged with bringing heroin and crack cocaine into the area was released from supervised bail after the case was discussed in motions court.
Luther L. Ware, Jr., 63, is charged with six counts of manufacture/delivery/possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of communication facility and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities. He has been on supervised bail since October when officials released him from the Clearfield County Jail because of several health conditions, according to a previous article.
Ware, who has been representing himself in this case, asked for his bail to be modified so he can return to his home in Bronx, NY, where he was receiving medical treatment.
President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman noted that Ware has been closely monitored with a GPS tracking system and he sees Ware in the courthouse almost every day. He was asking legal advice of Court Administrator F. Cortez “Chip” Bell so often that he is now barred from entering that office.
Ammerman acknowledged Ware’s previous motions asking for him to return to New York for medical treatment. He stated that this treatment was verified and when Ware went to New York, he returned within a few days.
“I have to give him credit. He’s complied with everything,” Ammerman said.
David Gorman of the attorney general’s office, who is prosecuting the case, agreed that Ware has always appeared in court when asked but questioned how he would contact him with any legal papers since he does not have a local attorney.
Ware responded that Gorman has his address and phone number in case he would need to serve any papers on him. Gorman verified his address and other contact information and the dates of the next court proceedings before agreeing to the change in his bail status. Ammerman then granted Ware’s motion allowing him to return to his home in New York.
Ware also filed a motion for assignment of counsel, which was dismissed. Ware argued that he cannot afford an attorney and one should be appointed for him. Ammerman explained to him that because he does not qualify for a public defender, according to the income guidelines, there was nothing he could do for him.
Ware filed a motion for production of a preliminary hearing transcript and phone records. Gorman said that there is no transcript of the preliminary hearing and no audio recording existed for a transcript to be made. He did agree to provide phone records for alleged calls between Ware and a confidential informant after Ware signed a consent form.
An additional motion for extension of time to file pre-trial motions was granted giving Ware 60 days to file any other motions.
The charges stem from an incident in October. According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Oct. 8, a confidential informant was contacted by Ware, who said he was making a trip back to Clearfield on Oct. 9 with a large amount of “stuff” referring to controlled substances. The informant spoke with Ware multiple times over the phone. As a result, a search warrant was issued for Ware’s Clearfield residence.
Prior to the execution of the warrant, the informant purchased one gram of crack/powder cocaine from Ware for $100. The informant then met with law enforcement agents and turned over the drugs.
While the officers were searching the residence, someone threw a baggie containing a half ounce of crack cocaine out a window of the apartment. In addition to this, officers seized approximately 180 bags of heroin from the kitchen table and 12 bags of powder/crack cocaine hidden in a pill bottle. They also located a ledger sheet indicating how much money was needed to be made from the sale of these controlled substances. Next to the pill bottle was a sock containing packaging materials consistent with the distribution of controlled substances namely crack cocaine.
When Ware was arrested, he had $195 in cash. Further, $100 of this was the money used by the informant to purchase cocaine.
