CLEARFIELD – A Philipsburg couple allegedly caught with large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine were scheduled for court Wednesday.
Brandon J. Kifer, 42, is charged by Clearfield state police with delivery of a controlled substance (two counts), criminal conspiracy-conduct, marijuana-small amount for personal use, use/possession of drug paraphernalia and two summaries.
Jennifer D. Quick, 49, is also charged with delivery of a controlled substance (two counts), criminal conspiracy-conduct, marijuana-small amount for personal use, use/possession of drug paraphernalia and one summary.
According to the criminal complaint, troopers observed a vehicle in the Philipsburg area Feb. 17 that was possibly involved with criminal activity.
The occupants, identified as Kifer and Quick, reportedly had a prior history with drug activities and were traveling in a black sedan with Maryland registration.
State police following the vehicle initially lost sight of it, but another trooper saw a vehicle matching its description turn into the Peebles shopping plaza.
He reportedly found it “odd” that the trunk’s lid was completely open, and that he was unable to observe vehicle registration information.
The trooper initiated a traffic stop. After pulling into a parking lot, the driver started to exit, and the passenger—despite verbal commands to re-enter the vehicle—exited and closed the trunk.
A vehicle registration query determined it was a rental car. The driver was identified as Kifer and the passenger as Quick with whom the trooper was familiar due to prior incidents.
The trooper also indicated familiarity with Kifer, noting he’s been involved in drug trafficking locally, and that on Jan. 22, state police seized one of his vehicles.
At some point after its seizure, unknown persons unlawfully entered the state police impound lot and the trunk of the vehicle, the complaint states.
In addition to the seizure of Kifer’s vehicle, his passenger was reportedly caught in possession of $7,800 cash and drug paraphernalia.
On Jan. 25, state police allegedly seized a “significant amount” of methamphetamine from a black backpack at the couple’s Philipsburg residence.
“Both Quick and Kifer have prior [drug] arrests on their respective criminal records,” state police say, adding that “most of the time,” smugglers use rentals to disassociate themselves from the vehicle.
When another trooper arrived at the traffic stop, he indicated that he’d just witnessed someone in the vehicle’s trunk prior to its departure from a known “drug house.”
State police summoned DuBois City’s drug K-9, which alerted to the vehicle, and prompted its seizure for further investigation and execution of a search warrant.
On Feb. 18, the search turned up approximately 32 grams of suspected fentanyl, 25 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 16 grams of suspected marijuana, eight stamp bags of suspected fentanyl, a digital scale, several drug-packaging items and an owe/pay sheet.
Quick waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday, sending her case to county court. Her bail is currently set at $10,000, monetary.
Kifer’s hearing was continued until March 22 and bail remains set at $25,000 monetary.
