Irwin man sentenced to jail after being found with almost 30 pounds of marijuana

Saying he was a danger to the community, a Westmoreland County judge on Monday ordered an Irwin drug dealer to serve at least six months in jail for possession of nearly 30 pounds of marijuana.

Zachary Morton, 33, was sentenced to serve up 23 months behind bars and an additional three years on probation in connection with his arrest Oct. 11, 2018, following a traffic stop along Route 30 in Hempfield.

“You had an extremely brazen and lucrative drug business going on,” said Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio.

Police found about 20 pounds of marijuana, two ounces of cocaine, 400 marijuana-laced vape cartridges and an ounce of marijuana wax in Morton’s sports utility vehicle. A subsequent search of Morton’s 9th Street home found an additional eight pounds of marijuana and another 400 vape cartridges as well as $3,300 in cash and a currency counter that was hidden in a secret room accessed through a hinged book case, Westmoreland County Detective Tony Marcocci testified on Monday.

The drugs carried a street value of about $100,000, Marcocci said.

In addition to the drugs and money, police found 16 guns and body armour in Morton’s home and vehicle, according to court records.

Marcocci testified Morton had been identified as a suspect in an ongoing drug distribution operation several months before his arrest and was under surveillance when he was stopped for making an illegal turn.

Morton pleaded guilty in March to nine drug-related counts.

Defense attorney Christopher Capozzi argued Monday that Morton should not be jailed and serve a sentence that included house arrest and probation.

“The war on drugs is an abject failure. Incarcerating people just doesn’t work,” Capozzi said. “I don’t think he is a drug kingpin. He’s not Pablo Escobar.”

Morton, a college graduate who operated a home renovation business with his father, said he could not say for sure when he became involved in the drug business but that he did so as a means to finance his own addictions.

“I know I messed up. I got involved with the wrong people,” Morton said.

Morton was ordered to report to the Westmoreland County Prison on July 17 to begin serving his sentence.