COAL TOWNSHIP - Two area men are behind bars after being charged with delivering 70 packets of heroin to a confidential informant Tuesday night near Ranshaw.
Coal Township Patrolman Joshua M. Wynn said Darryl Kashner Jr., 26, of 615 N. Shamokin St., Shamokin, and Jordan Scicchitano, 18, of 339 Beech St., Coal Township, were each charged in the office of Magisterial District Judge John Gembic III of Shamokin with a felony count of delivering heroin, a felony count of possessing heroin, a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility and a misdemeanor count of criminal conspiracy.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Ralpho Township Patrolman Christopher Grow received a call at 9 a.m. Tuesday from a confidential informant who said Kashner, with whom the informant was communicating on Facebook, wanted to sell 400 bags of heroin for $150 per bundle and 50 grams of cocaine for $65 per gram to the informant later that day.
Grow reported he picked up the informant at 10 a.m. at a local convenience store. The informant called Kashner at 10:19 a.m. to arranged to purchase 400 packs of heroin and 50 grams of cocaine for $9,000. Kashner allegedly told the informant he was going to Hazleton at noon to pick up the narcotics, and would call the informant when he returned to Shamokin, police said.
At 11:53 a.m.. Grow and Shamokin Cpl. Bryan Primerano set up stationary surveillance on the apartment building above the former Janie's Cafe on Shamokin Street in Shamokin, where Kashner resides, police said.
Grow said a driver parked a white four-door passenger vehicle outside the residence and beeped the horn at 12:18 p.m.; a male was seen getting out of the vehicle.
Kashner and Scicchitano exited the apartment and entered the vehicle at 12:27 p.m.
Kashner was seen holding a bag when he got in the front seat and Scicchitano got in the back passenger seat, police said.
The confidential informant was strip searched at 1:40 p.m. and was found not to be in possession of contraband or currency. At 2 p.m., he was given $1,000 in advanced funds, police said.
At 3:28 p.m., the informant called Kashner and arranged to meet him at the Advanced Auto Store in Coal Township. The informant was transported there by Coal Township Detective Jeff Brennan and Primerano at 3:30 p.m., police said.
At 4:18 p.m., police observed the white vehicle pick up the informant in the front of the store and drive into Ranshaw, stopping in the area of Seventh Street.
Several minutes later, the informant was picked up by Brennan and Primerano in front of Mt. Royal Mart, Ranshaw, and the informant turned over the packets of suspected heroin to the police., police said.
After the narcotics tested positive and the informant was searched again, police said the informant made arrangements to meet with Kashner in Shamokin to purchase more narcotics.
At 6:24 p.m., Wynn said Kashner and Scicchitano exited the Shamokin Street apartment and walked toward Sunbury Street, where they were taken into custody.
Upon being searched, Kashner was found to be in possession of a large amount of currency that was later confirmed to be the money used by the informant to purchase the heroin.
After their arraignment in front of Gembic, Kashner and Scicchitano were unable to post the $100,000 cash bail, and were committed to Northumberland County Prison.
In addition to the police departments of Ralpho Township and Coal Township, Sunbury Police Department and the state attorney general's office assisted.