CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Jurors hearing a case against a Pittsburgh man who is accused of providing a lethal dose of heroin to a Rimersburg man heard testimony from members of the Pennsylvania State Police on Friday at the Clarion County Courthouse.
The jury, which includes seven women, six men, and one alternate, are in the process of weighing evidence in the case against 24-year-old Todd Ellis Carter, Jr..
Carter, who had three family members in court to support him on Friday, is charged with selling heroin to a Clarion County man, who police say gave it to Joel Tanner Stark, who overdosed and died nearly two years ago at a Monroe Township residence.
Carter faces the following charges:
– Drug Delivery Resulting in Death
– Delivery of Heroin
– Possession with intent to Deliver Heroin
– Criminal Use of a Communication Facility
The charges stem from an investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police with the assistance of the Clarion County Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The investigation revealed that Carter allegedly delivered the fatal dose of heroin to a confidential informant who then gave it to Stark on January 14, 2016.
Eight stamp bags, some used, marked “‘Essence” were recovered from Stark’s residence near his body.
On January 15, 2016, troopers conducted a controlled purchase of heroin from Carter in Allegheny County. Twenty stamp bags were purchased from him, and an additional amount of heroin was seized from him upon his arrest. The heroin was all stamped with the same “Essence” logo.
On Friday, three of the four State Police employees who testified were granted expert status by President Judge James Arner.
Two of them are forensics experts who have been on the job for a combined 44 years. The third expert witness is a Trooper with 24 years of drug investigation experience under his belt while the fourth is a fellow trooper who has worked for PSP for 15 years.
On Friday, State Attorney General Prosecutor Maureen Sheehan Balchon opened by questioning Ted Williams, a State Police forensic scientist who works in the Erie office.
Williams is a drug chemistry specialist with 29 years experience. He explained his lab receives about 5,000 cases annually, one half of them drug-related.
“Now, we run tests nearly every day for heroin,” Williams said.
Williams said he tested stamp bags marked “Essence” that were found in Stark’s bedroom on the morning that he died. Some hadn’t been opened while others just contained residue; however, all tested positive for heroin.
State Trooper Michael Warfield, a trooper for 24 years who worked extensively with the DEA, was up next, and he provided riveting testimony as he led jurors through the controlled drug buy police had set up later on the day of Stark’s death as they investigated Carter’s involvement.
Jurors heard taped phone calls between Carter and a confidential informant (CI) as they made arrangements for a drug buy less than 24 hours after Stark died of a heroin overdose in the early-morning hours of January 15, 2016, at a Monroe Township residence on Stony Lonesome Road (pictured below).
The Commonwealth’s case asserts that Carter sold the lethal dose of heroin to the CI the evening of January 14 before the CI supplied some to Stark.
Warfield testified that he believed it was clear that the CI and Carter knew each other after listening to phone calls between the two.
After a number of calls and text messages between the two, a deal was struck for the CI to buy more “Essence” heroin from Carter the night of January 15.
Approximately, seven agents from the State Police, DEA and local police were involved in the controlled buy at a Marathon gas station in Harmar, located near the Pa. Turnpike and not far from Pittsburgh.
“When we do a controlled buy, the most important thing is to keep the CI safe,” Warfield said. “We try to control the buy as much as possible, from the location to the time.”
The CI wore a small recording device when he entered Carter’s gold-colored 1992 Nissan Altima. Warfield estimated the CI was in the car a minute or less before the CI got out.
State Trooper Donald Kotuby, who also works in drug investigations alongside Warfield, was in charge of the CI. He described him as pretty shaken and nervous after the buy was over.
The CI mistakenly went to the wrong vehicle when he got out of Carter’s vehicle.
When Carter was stopped soon after making the deal, Trooper Warfield searched Carter and his car, finding more than $600.00 and several stamp bags of heroin, marked “Essence.” One hundred forty dollars was identified as money the CI had been given by police for the controlled buy. Trooper Warfield made copies of the bills, so it could be identified later.
Warfield also testified Carter had several stamp bags wrapped in red paper and inside a plastic bag inside Carter’s underwear.
Michael B. Bogush, Carter’s defense attorney, continued his efforts to establish that it was possible that someone other than his client sold the heroin to the CI that later led to Stark’s death.
Trooper Warfield acknowledged that if someone who wanted to buy heroin and couldn’t get it from a dealer he knew and trusted, he’d probably find someone else.
Bogush also questioned Trooper Warfield and Laura Taylor, a specialist for the State Police in analyzing cell phones, computers, and other electronic devices, about another cell phone that was contacted by the CI that didn’t belong to Carter.
Testimony will continue at 9:00 a.m. on Monday. Expected on the witness stand are the two former confidential informants, as well as two more State Police officials and two doctors, including Dr. Eric Vey, the pathologist in charge of the Erie County Coroner’s office.
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