Drug task force accuses couple of possessing crack cocaine, 12 bricks of heroin at Unity hotel

Acting on a tip, Westmoreland County Drug Task Force officers and the state Attorney General’s Office arrested a couple accused of possessing large quantities of suspected crack cocaine and heroin inside a Unity hotel room, according to court documents.

Franklin T. Ellis II, 37, of West Homestead and Iyeashia C. Hudspath, 30, of Cadogan, Armstrong County, were arrested after officers obtained a search warrant for their room at the Inn at Mountain View and seized several ounces of suspected crack cocaine plus 12 bricks of heroin. The bust took place about 2 p.m. Friday.

According to task force members Brad Buchsbaum of Penn Township police and county detective Tony Marcocci, officers discovered the heroin and some of the crack inside a floral-colored bag that was inside a pocket of a hoodie that Ellis owned. More crack cocaine was found inside Hudspath’s bra.

Police also seized a crack pipe, empty stamp bag packages and heroin brick papers inside the room.

The amount of the contraband confiscated is more indicative of drug sales than personal use, Buchsbaum and Marcocci wrote in court papers.

Ellis and Hudspath were arraigned on multiple counts of manufacturing and possession with intent to deliver controlled substances, possession of controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The couple was ordered held in the county jail on $50,000 bond each.

According to online dockets, Ellis served a six- to 12-month sentence in Westmoreland after pleading guilty to flight to avoid apprehension and possession of a controlled substance filed by Greensburg police in 2020 and served an 18- to 36-month sentence in 2013 after being convicted of drug-related charges filed by state police in Hempfield. He was convicted in 2005 in Mercer County on drug charges and was sentenced to four to 24 months in jail.

Hudspath was wanted on a bench warrant since 2020 for skipping a court hearing in a child endangerment case filed by Greensburg police, court records show.