New Kensington man freed after murder sentence to serve 2 years for heroin
A New Kensington man, paroled earlier this year after serving more than two decades in prison for murder, pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug charges that stemmed from his arrest in May.
Charles Edward Jones, 40, pleaded guilty to one felony count of drug possession with an intent to deliver and was sentenced by Westmoreland County Court Judge Rita Hathaway to serve two to four years in prison. Prosecutors dropped three other offenses, including one count of a felon not to possess a firearm
Jones was arrested May 30 after police raided his North Street home and found more than 700 packets of heroin and a gun.
Jones was convicted for a murder in Pittsburgh in 1997. According to court records, he was originally charged with first-degree murder but was found guilty of a lesser charge of third-degree murder. He was sentenced in 1999 to serve 20-to-40 years in prison.
Jones was paroled in February after serving about 21 years behind bars for the murder conviction.
He is awaiting a hearing on allegations that his latest arrest violated terms of his parole.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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