ELYSBURG - Most of the 65 defendants from the eastern end of Northumberland County offered no resistance upon being taken into custody during a massive drug bust Friday.
But Shane Picarella, 23, of 151 N. Grant St., Shamokin, wasn't one of them.
Picarella was found by law enforcement officers hiding among insulation in his third-floor attic at about 12:30 p.m. and resisted arrest, police said, forcing them to spray him in the face with Mace.
Picarella, who yelled for about 15 minutes after getting sprayed, could be heard saying, "Kill me, kill me" and "I need a (expletive) doctor" as he sat in a police cruiser outside his home.
Prior to his apprehension, a woman carrying a young child was seen running out of the house.
A female neighbor, who was leaving her home with a tray of cookies, heard the commotion and spotted about a dozen law enforcement personnel outside on the one-way street, which was blocked off by police. The woman, who did not want to be identified, provided police with water and a towel that Shamokin Patrolman Raymond Siko II used to wipe Picarella's face.
Picarella, who was wanted on drug and disorderly conduct charges, was transported by police to Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital, where he underwent emergency room treatment for the Mace. He was released and taken before Gembic on the drug and disorderly conduct charges before being committed to jail.
Shamokin Code Enforcement Officer Rick Bozza and Shamokin Fire Chief Bruce Rogers, who were at the scene of the North Grant Street disturbance, posted condemned signs at 151-149 N. Grant St. because neither property had running water. Bozza said the houses were unfit for human habitation.
25 in upper county
In addition to the 65 defendants from mostly the Shamokin-Mount Carmel area, 25 additional men and women were charged with drug offenses in the northern part of the county, including Sunbury to Milton, in what was the first major drug bust of the year.
Members of the Northumberland-Montour Drug Task Force began apprehending defendants at 7 a.m. at their homes, places of employment and other locations before parading them into command centers at Ralpho Township Community Gym in Elysburg and Sunbury Municipal Building. The defendants were processed at the command posts by law enforcement personnel before being arraigned on various drug offenses by Magisterial District Judges Hugh Jones of Mount Carmel, John Gembic III of Shamokin and Benjamin Apfelbaum of Sunbury.
Many prescription drugs
Mount Carmel Chief of Police Todd Owens, field supervisor for the drug task force, said the majority of the arrests involved illegal use or possession of prescription drugs. He said heroin, cocaine, marijuana and bath salts also were confiscated.
He said additional charges are pending.
Assisting Owens at the command center was Mount Carmel Patrolman Matthew Dillman, who serves as the borough's narcotics investigator.
Approximately 30 law enforcement personnel, including drug task force members, state constables Larry Rompallo, Patrick Reynolds and Glenn Masser, adult and juvenile probation officers, parole officers and agents from Region 4 of the state Attorney General's Office assisted at Elysburg. The bust was conducted in cooperation with the district attorney offices in Northumberland and Montour counties.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, approximately 50 of the 65 defendants in the Shamokin-Mount Carmel area had been taken into custody. Owens said task force members will continue their search for the remaining defendants over the weekend.
A majority of defendants were committed to Northumberland County Prison, Sunbury, in lieu of cash bail.
Second hospitalization
In addition to Picarella, defendant Michael J. Bills, 48, of 921 Spruce St., Kulpmont, was also hospitalized for a short time.
He was transported by Elysburg Ambulance to Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital after complaining of chest pains upon being escorted into the Elysburg gym. He underwent evaluation before being released and later arraigned.
Bills and his son, David J. Bills, 27, same address, face eight and 12 counts of drug-related charges, respectively, which were among the most filed against the defendants in the Shamokin-Mount Carmel area. Most of the charges filed against the father and son involved methadone, a painkiller that's also used as an anti-addictive treatment for heroin and other opioid dependency.
David M. Brown, 29, of 29 N. Chestnut St., Mount Carmel, had 30 counts of drug-related charges filed against him. Most of those offenses involved Oxycodone.madison