Police arrest woman on drug charges after officer spots transaction at Vandergrift convenience store

Vandergrift police say an Armstrong County woman was arrested after an officer saw her buying crack cocaine while parked at a convenience store gas pump.

Melissa Elaine Ferraro, 39, of the 100 block of Girty Road in South Bend Township was charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and criminal use of a communications facility along with a count of drug possession and a traffic citation.

Ferraro was charged by summons and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Nov. 14.

An officer working a traffic detail Sept. 1 near the Vandergrift Mini Mart on Farragut Avenue saw a woman later identified as Ferraro pull up to a gas pump about 1 a.m. and go into the store, according to a criminal complaint.

As Ferraro returned to her car, the driver of an SUV that pulled up to a nearby gas pump walked over to the open door of her vehicle and put a brown paper bag on the seat, police said.

Ferraro then handed the man something that he placed in the pocket of his hoodie before driving off.

Ferraro’s silver Ford Focus was pulled over along Lincoln Street in Parks for failing to have proper lighting for its license plate, the complaint said.

When the officer asked what Ferraro had in the paper bag, she told him it was feminine hygiene products that her friend brought to her because she didn’t have any.

Ferraro refused to let the officer search the car so a police dog was dispatched to the scene from the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department, the complaint said.

The dog got a hit near the front driver’s door, which was closed with its window up. Police said the paper bag was visible on the driver’s seat behind Ferraro’s purse.

The car was impounded and searched Sept. 7 after getting a warrant. Police said they found a baggie with 1.10 grams of crack cocaine inside the paper bag. A container filled with a white powdered substance was found in Ferraro’s purse, and a grinder along with marijuana was in the trunk, the complaint said.

Police said they also got a search warrant for Ferraro’s cellphone, which was in the center console, and discovered multiple messages she received and sent between Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 to arrange to buy drugs, according to the complaint.