Two Allegheny County residents pleaded guilty to conspiracy, drug and other charges in connection with their September 2018 arrest in Salem Township.
Police said Joseph J. Baughman, 38, of Green Tree, and Samantina Maria Perri, 31, of Crafton, were passengers in a car that was stopped for a traffic violation along Route 22. A search of their vehicle found 50 bricks of heroin, an amount equal to 2,500 stamp bags of the drug, along with two ounces of fentanyl and a loaded pistol.
Baughman pleaded guilty to charges of drug delivery, conspiracy and a firearms offense and was sentenced this week by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears to serve 5 1/2 to 15 years in prison.
Perri pleaded guilty to conspiracy, drug offenses and presenting false identification to police. She was sentenced by Mears to serve four to 10 years in prison. According to court records, Perri, when first questioned by police, presented her sister’s drivers license and was initially booked into the county jail under that name.
Both Baughman and Perri contended a subsequent police search of their homes was illegal but, just prior to their guilty pleas, abandoned the request to have their charges dismissed.
Nicholas Miller, 31, of Brookline, the driver of the car, pleaded guilty last year to similar offenses and was sentenced to 2 1/2 to six years in prison.
