A Girardville woman faces prison time after a Schuylkill County jury decided Tuesday that she possessed four drugs, including a salable amount of methamphetamine, plus paraphernalia in January 2015 in Pottsville.
Marjorie M. Tassone, 46, did not react as the jury of seven men and five women found her guilty of one count each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Jurors deliberated more than an hour before reaching their verdict.
President Judge William E. Baldwin, who presided over Tassone’s one-day trial and had earlier found her not guilty of three additional counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, ordered preparation of a presentence investigation and said he would schedule the defendant’s sentencing after it was done. He allowed Tassone to remain free on $50,000 unsecured bail pending sentencing.
Pottsville police charged Tassone with possessing meth, marijuana, alprazolam and oxycodone, plus baggies, pipes and a digital scale, about 6:45 p.m. Jan. 7, 2015, in a car in which she was a passenger.
Patrolman Cody B. Montz testified he stopped the car, a white Dodge Stratus, because it had too heavy a window tint, a violation of the state Vehicle Code. He said both the driver and Tassone moved around a lot in the car when he came to investigate.
Montz said that when the driver got out, he saw a container with pills in it. After that, a search of Tassone revealed she possessed two plastic vials, Montz testified.
Adam Shober, a forensic drug analyst at the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem, said he tested the items police seized from Tassone and the driver.
“The vegetable matter was marijuana,” Shober testified. He also identified the other drugs as meth, alprazolam and oxycodone.
An undercover police officer testified the scale was a sign of drug dealing.
“Drug dealers would use the scale in order to weigh out items for sale,” he said.
Defendant
· Name: Marjorie M.
Tassone
· Age: 46
· Residence: Girardville
· Verdict: Guilty of one count each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia