CLEARFIELD – Four people will stand trial on felony charges for their alleged involvement in trafficking drugs in the Clearfield area.
Vincent L. Panebianco, 29, of Clearfield, Darrell Taylor, 29, of Springdale, Lukus Pickard, 35, also of Clearfield, and Mallory Bloom, 26, of Curwensville have all been charged by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General in this case.
The charges stem from an investigation into the distribution of quantities of methamphetamine and other drugs from Panebianco’s Clearfield residence.
An OAG narcotics agent testified that on Feb. 1, a local drug task force officer had observed increased “short stay” traffic at the residence, located at 1815 Daisy Street Ext., and informed him.
The agent arrived in the area around 7:30 p.m. to conduct surveillance just as a Mitsubishi Eclipse backed into park at the rear of the residence. No one exited the vehicle, which sat running.
Ten minutes later, a male – later identified as Marcus Waltmon – entered the passenger’s side. The vehicle departed and was stopped near Snappy’s Convenience Store off Interstate 80.
An officer said it was discovered there was an active arrest warrant for Waltmon. While being taken into custody, Waltmon informed the officer of a “loaded” needle of meth on the passenger’s side.
The officer said Waltmon didn’t want anyone to get injured when it was found, and so he alerted the K9 officer on-scene. He said Waltmon was also found in possession of $662 and two Xanax pills.
In addition, he said he was aware that another officer had found $2,628 on the driver, Eric Kyler’s person, when he was arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
The officer said consent to search the vehicle was given by its owner, Kyler, which yielded a magnetic lockbox containing $19,020 in the rear of the vehicle behind the driver’s seat.
The agent said the search also yielded small amounts of meth, marijuana, as well as scales and packaging materials, which were consistent with the distribution of controlled substances.
At the direction of his police chief, the officer said both Waltmon and Kyler were transported to the station first for purposes of questioning. Then, both were eventually lodged in county jail.
The agent testified that Kyler’s phone rang multiple times while he was at the station, and it appeared the calls were incoming from Akron, Ohio, which he referred to as a “source city” for meth.
He said the large sum of cash found within the vehicle could purchase one pound of meth, and Kyler and Waltmon was headed to I-80 and presumably westbound to Ohio for an additional supply.
The officer said as a result of the traffic stop, OAG agents prepared and obtained a search warrant for Panebianco’s residence, which was served around midnight.
He said when entry was made into the living area, a young child – about 9 years old – from the neighborhood was observed sitting there. The child was removed to safety by another officer.
The officer said they could hear voices and movement upstairs, and Panebianco was located outside a bedroom holding his son. This child was also removed to safety.
He said Panebianco was subsequently taken into custody. He said another officer tried to enter a second bedroom that was locked, but ultimately had to kick the door open.
Inside this room were Taylor, Pickard and Bloom, and the officer said they all turned to face officers and raised their hands. He said they were cuffed, then the residence was cleared and secured.
The agent said a search of the residence yielded a large quantity of suspected meth; marijuana; mushrooms; multiple scales; packaging materials; and drug paraphernalia.
There were also two firearms, an unloaded Smith & Wesson .380-caliber handgun and a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun, both of which were seized by police.
The agent said the handgun was found with a quantity of meth and $57 in cash, while the shotgun was underneath the mattress on the bed in the room occupied by Taylor, Pickard and Bloom.
Upon further investigation, the agent said it was found that the handgun was registered to a female, and she’d asked Taylor to retrieve it from a mutual friend’s residence where she’d left it.
In Panebianco’s dresser, he said there were identification and bank cards belonging to other people. The agent said that drug dealers often take personal items as collateral to guarantee payment.
Both the agent and officer said there were various controlled substances and paraphernalia throughout the residence that were unsecured and “absolutely” within the reach of the two children.
Panebianco, Pickard and Bloom have been charged with a felony count each of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and endangering the welfare of children.
Taylor is facing the same set of charges, plus two felony counts of possession of firearm prohibited. Bail is currently set at $250,000 monetary for Panebianco, Taylor and Bloom and $100,000 monetary for Pickard.
All charges were held to the Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas for further disposition on Tuesday by Senior Magisterial District Judge James Hawkins, who was specially presiding over the preliminary hearing in this case.
