Two Face Drug Charges after Controlled Buy

Two residents of South Avenue face drug-related charges in Allegheny Common Pleas Court after police conducted two controlled purchases of crack cocaine at their home.

Isis Mitchell, 36, of 1104 South Ave., Wilkinsburg, waived her right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Kim M. Hoots on Nov. 29 on charges of conspiracy—manufacture, deliver or possession; intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered and use/possession of drug paraphernalia filed by Wilkinsburg police. One charge of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver was withdrawn.

Muhammad Salaam, 37, of the same address, also waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of conspiracy—manufacture, deliver or possession; manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver; intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered; and use/possession of drug paraphernalia filed by Wilkinsburg police.

Formal arraignments are set for both Mitchell and Salaam at 10 a.m. Jan. 17 in Common Pleas Court.

According to a criminal complaint, police officers from Wilkins Township, Edgewood, Forest Hills and Wilkinsburg formulated a plan to serve a search warrant at the address on Nov. 24. Upon entering the home, they found a woman and man in a third-floor bedroom. An officer observed three boxes on a dresser, two of which had clear plastic sandwich bags in them.

An officer also noted a clear plastic knotted bag of suspected crack cocaine. Both Mitchell and Salaam were taken into custody. Officers also removed a digital scale and a small, clear, knotted bag with suspected crack cocaine.

Police seized $211 from Salaam. Marked $10 bills used to make the controlled purchases were found to match those in Salaam's possession, according to the criminal complaint.

In other cases heard by Hoots last week:

• Randall Wade, 27, of 1635 Ardmore Blvd., Forest Hills, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense) and driving under the influence (highest rate of alcohol, blood alcohol content .16+, first offense) filed by Edgewood police. According to a criminal complaint, an officer found Wade slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle, which was running near the Edgewood Express in the 200 block of Edgewood Ave. on Sept. 8. When the officer was unable to wake Wade, he called paramedics. Wade woke up and, according to the complaint, had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and smelled of a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage. He failed a field sobriety test. A breath analyzer test showed a blood alcohol content level of .184 and .183. The legal limit is .08.

• Kevin Moon, 40, of 1100 Crucible St., Pittsburgh, was held for court on charges of accident involving damage to an attended vehicle/property, accident involving death/injury not properly licensed, driving while operating privileges suspended or revoked and reckless driving filed by Edgewood police. Two officers on patrol noticed a man sitting outside a vehicle with a bumper on the ground that had been hit by a driver who fled the scene at the intersection of South Braddock and Monongahela in Edgewood. The driver told police he had a head injury. A witness told police a white minivan or SUV hit the car and provided them with his description. The driver said he and the driver had exchanged words. The victim was transported to Mercy Hospital for treatment. He complained of a concussion, sprained knee, back and foot. After identifying the make of the bumper, police were able to locate the car. Moon, the owner, admitted to the accident.

• Nikia Walton, 27, of 2723 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, waived her right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense) and driving under the influence (highest rate of alcohol, blood alcohol content .16+, first offense), driving while operating privileges suspended or revoked and obedience to traffic-control devices filed by Wilkinsburg police. An officer monitoring traffic noticed a Jeep Cherokee traveling erratically eastbound on Penn Avenue. After initiating a traffic stop, the officer noticed signs of intoxication and the odor of alcohol on the breath of Walton, who was the driver. Walton told police she had been drinking at the Travelers Club in Homewood and had consumed alcohol prior to the stop. She failed a field sobriety test. A breath analyzer test showed her blood alcohol content to be .203 and .208.

• Dawna Lee McNeil, 50, of 454 Wildwood Ave., Verona, waived her right to a preliminary hearing on a charge of intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered filed by Wilkinsburg police. An additional charge of tampering with physical evidence was withdrawn. According to a criminal complaint, an officer conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Wesley Street and Glenn Avenue and attempted to get an indentification cars from a woman passenger. McNeil attempted to pass off a knotted bag of crack cocaine as another item. The officer said she attempted to hide the bag when asked to hand it over.

• Stephen Harry Platt, 54, of 2225 Haymaker Road, Monroeville waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense) and driving under the influence (high rate of alcohol, blood alcohol content .10 to .16, first offense) and exceeding the 35 mph zone by 23 mph filed by Wilkinsburg police. An officer in the 400 block of Ardmore Boulevard using a speed-tracking device clocked Platt's car at a speed of 58 mph, then followed it along Penn Avenue until it stopped at a gas station. The officer noted that Platt exhibited signs of intoxication and detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. Platt failed field sobriety tests. A breath analyzer test recorded blood alcohol content levels of .118 percent and .109 percent. A charge of driving while operating privileges suspended or revoked was withdrawn.

• Kevin D. Jackson, 55, of 6914 Kedron St., Homewood, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense), driving under the influence (highest rate of alcohol, blood alcohol content .16+, first offense), careless driving and operating a vehicle without a valid inspect The charges were filed by Wilkinsburg police. According to a criminal complaint, an officer was stopped at a traffic light at the corner of Wood Street and Penn Avenue when a motorists pulled over and told him that a car that had just passed was driving erratically. The officer also observed the erratic driving and conducted a traffic stop. The officer noted Jackson showed signs of intoxication and admitted to consuming alcohol. He failed field sobriety tests. A breath analyzer test recorded blood alcohol content levels of .184 and .183.

• Raphael T. Kelly, 37, of 2328 McNary Blvd., Wilkinsburg waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense), driving under the influence (high rate of alcohol, blood alcohol content, .10 to .16, first offense) and obedience to traffic device filed by Wilkinsburg police. Police were dispatched to the intersection of Graham Boulevard and Laketon Road for a report of an unresponsive female sitting in her vehicle in the roadway. When officers arrived, the vehicle abruptly moved and they conducted a traffic stop after observing a traffic violation. According to a criminal complaint, Kelly showed signs of intoxication and an officer detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath. Kelly failed field sobriety tests. A breath analyzer test showed a blood alcohol content of .142 percent and .131 percent.

• Gloria Odette Davis, 45, of 7807 Bennett St., Homewood, waived her right to a preliminary hearing on charges of retail theft-alter label/pricing, marking; intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered; use/possession of drug paraphernalia; and disorderly conduct/hazardous physical offense. The charges were filed by Edgewood police after an incident at Kmart in Edgewood Towne Centre on Nov. 15. An officer noticed a woman running across the Kmart parking lot, then saw a Kmart loss prevention officer running behind her. The officer stopped her in the shopping center. Davis admitted to having a crack pipe in her pants pocket. The officer observed needles and a cooking spoon in her open purse. During a search, the officers found six unused hypodermic needles, two metal caps with suspected heroin residue, one stamp-size plastic bag with suspected heroin in tissue paper, two cooking spoons, a blue tourniquet and packet of ascorbic acid. The loss prevention officer told Edgewood police that Davis and a male accomplice filled up a shopping cart with merchandise totaling $650 and the man stayed in the store as she fled with the goods. A charge of manufacture, deliver or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver was withdrawn.

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