Nov 20, 2017 3 min read

One of three people taken into custody when state police served a search warrant at a Martindale Road address in Deemston Borough testified against a co-defendant Monday in Washington County central magistrate’s court.

Samantha Lee Howes, 39, who stayed at what she called “a drug house” at 2430 Martindale Road, was a key witness against Michael A. Martin, 34, of Philadelphia, who also lived at the Deemston address.

Martin is accused of providing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl that resulted in the overdose death of Stacey Greenawalt, 30, Dec. 6 at the home of her father on Buckingham Road.

Brought to court in ankle shackles and with her handcuffed wrists attached to her waist, Howes, wearing orange jail togs, testified she had not used heroin for four years last December when, at the Martindale Road home, she and Greenawalt “were in the bathroom and I had her shoot me up with two bags” of suspected heroin. Greenawalt also injected herself with the drug.

State Trooper Kevin DiJuliis described the heroin Greenawalt used before her death a few days later as a “Philly bag,” meaning a tiny glassine package double-bagged in a small, self-sealing plastic bag.

The glassine package, known as a stamp bag, that was found with Greenawalt at the time of her death, bore the symbol of a green dollar sign, according to Cpl. Sarah Teagarden, who also testified at the hearing.

Howes described Greenawalt’s relationship with Martin as both friendly and romantic, spending the weekend mainly in Martin’s bedroom at the home on Martindale Road before Greenawalt’s death.

When troopers, as part of their investigation, picked up the trash at the Martindale Road home, they found identical stamp bags. Howes also testified the heroin she and Greenawalt used had been inside packages bearing the green dollar sign.

Laboratory analysis from the coroner’s office attributed Greenawalt’s death to toxic levels of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine.

Graminski questioned Howes’ credibility after she described her use of heroin, crack, marijuana and opioid pain pills, some of which she sold or acted as an intermediary, at times on Martin’s behalf.

Deputy District Attorney Jerome Moschetta asked Howes to identify the source of the drug supply. She described driving with other people to Martin’s home in Philadelphia three or four times, returning to Washington County with Martin and heroin.

Howes, who is incarcerated in the Greene County jail, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea next month in Washington County Court as part of a plea bargain that required her to testify against Martin.

But as Graminski, representing Martin, questioned Howes, he observed, “Obviously, you didn’t die.”

He also asked Howes if Greenawalt obtained drugs exclusively from the Martindale Drive home, and Howes replied she did not know.

She also testified about other people exchanging guns for drugs at the Martindale Road home, and Moschetta introduced evidence of text messages related to a gun and drugs state police were able to obtain from Martin’s cellphone.

Martin has been jailed since December on charges related to alleged drug activity at the Martindale Road home, but that set of charges was recently dismissed as the prosecution filed new charges related to Greenawalt’s death.

District Judge Curtis Thompson held Martin for trial on all charges, including two counts of a convicted felon illegally possessing firearms; two counts of felony drug delivery or possession of drugs with intent to deliver; conspiracy related to the charges; and drug delivery resulting in death.

After the hearing, Martin was escorted back to Washington County jail to await formal arraignment.