CLEARFIELD – After a two-day trial in Clearfield County Court, a jury determined a Clearfield man was not selling drugs, but only possessing them.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Dave Gorman for the Attorney General’s office while Irwin was represented by attorney Brian Jones.
John L. Irwin, 37, was charged with three felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, three misdemeanor counts of intentional possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as two felony firearm charges after he was located in a Lawrence Township residence along with methamphetamine, heroin, mushrooms, pills and a gun in January of 2019.
According to the affidavit, state parole agents with assistance from Lawrence Township Police investigated a report of Irwin who was wanted for violating state parole, being at a Hill Street residence.
When they arrived they found Irwin upstairs sitting on a cooler in a bedroom. Also in the room was Alen Erskine who lived there, Amber Johnston of Curwensville and a small child.
Near his location was a black box on a work bench that also had drug paraphernalia, a bag of suspected methamphetamine on it, included two cell phones and two notebooks with alleged drug sale information.
Inside the box they found a pistol with the serial number scratched off. Underneath the bench was a lock box that was bolted to the floor.
Johnston said the bolted lock box belonged to her and she voluntarily opened it for officials.
Inside was $2,330 in cash, 37 small bags of heroin, two bags of mushrooms, and several unknown pills. Johnston stated that all of these items belonged to Irwin, except some of the loose bills.
Irwin told a state parole agent that anything found in the bedroom was his, according to the criminal complaint.
After deliberating on Tuesday afternoon, the jury found Irwin guilty of possessing heroin, methamphetamine, Fentanyl and drug paraphernalia but he was acquitted on the felony charges involving delivery of the controlled substances and the firearm charges.
Irwin will be scheduled for sentencing within 60 days.
In connection with this case, Erskine pleaded guilty to misdemeanor intentional possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child in Sept. 2019 when he was sentenced to nine months to two years less one day in the county jail and one year probation.
Johnston pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of children, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia in July 2019 when she was sentenced to 45 days to one year in jail and two years consecutive probation.