Two people jailed on cocaine charges
Two people from Arizona were jailed after state police said they found about eight ounces of cocaine during a search of the car in which the pair were traveling Wednesday on Interstate 70 in South Strabane Township.
A trooper wrote in court papers the drugs were in a duffel bag that was in the back seat of a blue Honda he pulled over on the ramp between I-70 west and Interstate 79 around 9:20 p.m. The trooper identified the driver as Alfredo S. Barboza, 19, of Phoenix, and the sole passenger as Leticia Lopez, 23, of Chandler, a Phoenix suburb.
Charges against Barboza and Lopez include conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to deliver, possessing cocaine with intent to deliver, drug possession and possession of paraphernalia. Court records show District Judge Jesse Pettit denied them bail because he considered each of them a flight risk. Both are in Washington County jail.
The trooper first pulled the car over because a headlight was allegedly out. He spoke to Barboza, who said he had driven to the area from New Jersey and was headed to Arizona.
“I observed Barboza to have limited luggage for the trip he was on,” the trooper wrote.
Barboza consented to a search of the car, during which he found a plastic bag with the cocaine inside the larger duffel bag.
Court papers don’t list attorneys who are representing Barboza or Lopez in the case.