CLEARFIELD – A Glen Richey man has been accused of having methamphetamine and a gun at the Clearfield County Fair. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court at the jail.
Creagan Lee Powell, 32, has been charged by Sgt. Nathan Curry of the Clearfield Borough police with firearms not to be carried without a license, F3; intentional possession of a controlled substance, M; use/possession of drug paraphernalia, M; and public drunkenness, S. His bail has been set at $50,000.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Aug. 4, local police were conducting a detail at the Clearfield County Fair as part of the “Cops in Shops” program. At approximately 8 p.m., Chief Douglas Clark of the Lawrence Township police observed a male enter the fairgrounds at the Mill Road gate.
Clark immediately noticed that the male appeared to be under the influence of some type of substance. He staggered as he walked and repeatedly rubbed his nose, and Clark recognized fidgeting as a very common behavior of methamphetamine users.
Clark proceeded to follow the male for approximately 100 feet and he continued this behavior. When Clark approached, he asked the male if he was taking any prescription medication. The male said that he wasn’t taking any.
Clark proceeded to ask if he was in possession of any illegal drugs. The male said he was not and began pulling items from his pockets. Clark, however, observed that the male’s hand had remained in his left cargo pocket, and he was holding a large item.
Clark subsequently grabbed the item from the outside to secure it in case it was a weapon. When he did this and stated it was drugs, the male said “yes.” Clark secured the male’s left arm while a sheriff deputy secured his right arm.
When they did this, the male said, “I have a gun.” He was immediately placed in handcuffs, and a loaded .380 Ruger LCP was located in a nylon holster in his front waist band.
The male was taken to the detail command trailer in the Clearfield County Fair. There, police examined the item that was in the male’s left cargo pocket, and the metal box allegedly contained four clear bags of methamphetamine, a small multi-colored straw, a razor blade and one key ring Sheetz card.
All of the evidence was released to Curry of the Clearfield Borough police. Inside the command trailer, Curry observed that the male, identified as Powell, was unsteady on his feet.
Powell agreed to speak with police and admitted the methamphetamine was for his personal use.
He also allegedly admitted that the weapon was registered to him and he doesn’t have a concealed carry permit. He said he would never harm anyone with the gun, and it was just for his personal protection.
Powell also told police he is currently struggling with the use of methamphetamine, and he was recently caught with it in the Pittsburgh area.
Due to his condition and the charges, Powell was transported to the county jail. Curry took the items, which were located by Clark, to the Clearfield Borough police station.
On Aug. 5, Curry performed a NIK test on the four crystal-like substances. The test showed a positive result for the presence of methamphetamine, and the evidence was prepared and sent to the Erie Crime Lab for further analysis.