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July 29, 2010

Man ordered to court in drugs, guns case

By Staff New Castle News

NEW CASTLE — A man charged with illegally possessing drugs and guns has been held for court.

Paris Maurice Lippett, 22, remains in the Lawrence County jail on $100,000 bond.

Lippett is charged by New Castle police with criminal conspiracy to intimidate a witness, nine counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, terroristic threats, and possession of firearms by a convict.

Michael Ahwesh said additional charges of simple and aggravated assault, related to the other charges, were filed separately. Ahwesh is with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case.

Cpl. Anthony Lagnese of the New Castle Police Department testified that on May 31, officers — armed with a search warrant — arrested Lippett outside 322 Halco Drive.

In the apartment, he said, police found crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin and Ecstasy tablets, two digital scales, plastic baggies, foil, ammunition, live 9 mm rounds, a spent cartridge and guns including a 9 mm Uzi, a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun, a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and a loaded semi-automatic assault rifle.

Lagnese said inside the apartment officers also found a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation-issued identification card containing Lippett’s name and photo as well as court papers, which contained Lippett’s name as the defendant. When arrested, Lippett had the keys to 322 Halco Drive, a cell phone and $1,770 in cash in his pockets, Lagnese said.

In cross-examining the officer, defense attorney Tom Leslie contended Lippett did not live in the home and the drugs, guns and drug paraphernalia were not his.

Leslie noted the identification card found on the kitchen table gave a different address for Lippett, as did the court papers.

As to the conspiracy charge, Lagnese said, he had heard a conversation by Lippett from the jail urging someone to bribe or detain a witness expected to testify against him.

Also testifying was Trooper Dan Kotuby, who said he accompanied a confidential informant who made a controlled purchase of crack cocaine from Lippett on March 4 at Crestview Gardens.

In arguing that charges against Lippett be dismissed, Leslie said that in addition to not proving his client lives in the apartment where the drug and guns were found, the commonwealth had not proved other charges, including conspiracy to intimidate a witness.

Ahwesh argued Lippett had control of the apartment.

“He had the keys in his pocket,” he said “His identification card was on the kitchen table. His court papers were in the apartment. That is his formal residence.”

District Judge Jennifer Nicholson agreed and held all charges for court.

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