Drug suspects rounded up

BY MICHAEL J. RUDOLF

Wyoming County Press Examiner

TUNKHANNOCK - An investigation over the past eight months led to the arrest of more than a dozen people on drug charges in Wyoming County on Wednesday.

Two other suspects were arrested later in the week.

District Attorney Jeff Mitchell called the suspects "street-level dealers," with perhaps one major dealer in the mix.

According to Mitchell, the investigations and arrest were coordinated between his office and the State Police Troop P Vice and Narcotics Unit. Assisting in rounding up the suspects were state police from the Tunkhannock, Towanda and Laporte barracks; Tunkhannock Borough and Tunkhannock Township police; and the county adult probation department.

All of the suspects are from Wyoming or Susquehanna counties.  They were each charged with delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility.

According to the police criminal complaints, the arrests came as the result of attempted drug deals with undercover informants between May 2009 and last week. The suspects were accused of dealing a variety of drugs, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine, morphine and Percocet in several communities throughout the county.

Those arrested were:

Heather Ann Stephenson, 23, Oak Forest Drive, Tunkhannock.

Andrew Stephen Rowker, 31, Keelersburg Road, Tunkhannock.

Cameron Justin Brown, 26, Dymond Trailer Park, Tunkhannock.

George Adam Steer II, 19, RR 4, Montrose.

Andrew J. Artley, 21, RR 1, Hop Bottom.

Melissa Ann Finkler, 24, RR 1, Springville.

Ian Marc Williams, 21, Post Hill Road, Falls.

Carlos O. Hernandez, 21, South Main Street, Montrose.

Bryan Sam Eberlin, 23, RR 2, Laceyville.

Hugh Leroy Parkhurst Jr., 52, RR 1, Meshoppen.

Daniel L. Buechel, 26, Route 87, Mehoopany.

Elissia Marie Gallagher, 25, RR 7, Montrose.

Roger Allen Newhart Jr., 28, RR 1, Rushville.

Tiaghee Dieshon Daughtry, 20, RR 1, Mehoopany.

Dillin Ray Thomas, 22, of Factoryville.

Tanya Jean Siglin, 24, of Factoryville.

All of the suspects except Daughtry were arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Carl Smith. Bail on each suspect was set at $15,000. Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for Feb. 5.

Daughtry was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge John Hovan, with bail set at $25,000. His preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for Feb. 2, was continued with no new date set.

As of Monday at 2:15 p.m., most of the suspects were in the Wyoming County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail. Buechel, Finkler, Artley and Steer had been released from jail. Ian Williams is incarcerated elsewhere.