A Greensburg man accused of selling drugs out of a North Huntingdon home attempted to hide more than four bricks of heroin from police inside a toilet tank by wrapping it in plastic and attaching it to a shoe string, police said.
Troy V. Jackson, 53, was arrested on multiple charges of illegal possession and delivery of heroin, crack cocaine and Naloxone, possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence and providing false identification to authorities.
North Huntingdon officer Shane Rebel said in court documents that police were called to a residence on the 9800 block of Barnes Lake Road just after 10 p.m. Monday to check on the welfare of a resident.
When police arrived, the resident granted police permission to search the home and said he had two “friends” visiting.
When police walked past a bathroom, Rebel said Jackson was observed “moving away from the toilet after sitting on the seat.”
Rebel said he noticed a shoe string hanging out of the back of the toilet tank lid.
Rebel reported that he had run into Jackson earlier Monday at another location and cited him for possession of drug paraphernalia when he was discovered carrying two alleged crack pipes and a small amount of heroin marked “ESPN.”
When officers removed the tank lid, they found 211 stamp bags of alleged heroin wrapped in plastic and tied to the string, 11 grams of crack cocaine and Naloxone strips, Rebel said. Naloxone is an opioid.
After Jackson was taken to the police station and fingerprinted, Rebel said he learned that during the earlier arrest, Jackson had provided a brother’s name and birth date.
The resident and other occupant were not charged.
Jackson was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Wayne Gongaware. He is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled July 22.
