Turnpike drug suspect heads to trial

BY KECIA BAL
The Tribune-Democrat

SOMERSET May 20, 2008 11:59 pm

— A Pittsburgh man is headed to court on charges stemming from a traffic stop on the turnpike that led to a search which yielded $75,000 worth of heroin.
State police from the turnpike barracks said they found about 1,500 small bags of heroin inside the trunk of Anthony Omar Turner’s rental vehicle.
The packaged drugs, weighing about 1.4 pounds, were tucked inside a baby bag that also contained a blanket and baby lotion, Sgt. Anthony DeLuca testified at Turner’s preliminary hearing Tuesday.
DeLuca said a strong odor of air freshener made him suspicious after he stopped Turner, 27, for driving 72 mph in a 65 mph zone of the turnpike in Stonycreek Town-ship around 1 a.m. May 14.
The sergeant said he was working a drug interdiction shift and is trained to notice indications that can lead to a drug bust.
“Mr. Turner was very friendly, but I could tell he was nervous,” DeLuca said.
After he issued Turner a written warning for speeding, DeLuca said he began asking him why there was no luggage in the vehicle, though Turner had said he was returning from a trip to New York to pursue a career in music.
DeLuca testified that Turner kept looking toward the trunk of his rental vehicle and eventually said he would not allow DeLuca to search it.
A drug dog called to the scene “hit” on the trunk area, and on-call District Judge Joseph Cannoni signed a search warrant.
Turner denied any knowledge of the drugs, DeLuca said.
In asking for a lessened bond for Turner, who has been incarcerated at the Somerset County Jail, his attorney, Lee Markovitz of Pittsburgh, said the defen-dant’s detention in his vehicle while awaiting the drug dog is questionable.
District Judge Arthur Cook, again calling the charges“very serious,” reduced the $150,000 straight bond to $50,000 for Turner, who is the primary caregiver for his 5-year-old son.