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Two people are in custody in connection with the double homicide on Beale Avenue in late May, according to Altoona police.
Natalie Washington, 52, of Altoona and Mikal Jackson-Stevenson, 28, of Philadelphia were discovered shot to death on May 28 inside Washington's first floor apartment at 2606 Beale Ave.
After retrieving information from Washington's cellphone and through information from confidential sources, Altoona police filed felony conspiracy and drug charges against 32-year-old Isiah "Zay" Payne of Philadelphia, and his girlfriend, 31-year-old Onya Lewis of Gallitzin, on June 26.
Lewis' photo was the only one available late Wednesday, according to a prison official.
The pair was apprehended in Delaware on Wednesday and brought back to Blair County for arraignment on the drug cases. Sources indicated that detectives will be filing homicide charges against Payne this morning. It was not known late Wednesday what or if any charges Lewis will face in the double killing.
"The Altoona Police Department Criminal Investigation Division have arrested two people in connection with a double homicide that occurred in the City of Altoona on May 28, 2020," Altoona police Sgt. Matthew Plummer said late Wednesday night. "Additional details will be released in the morning after the suspects have been arraigned on their respective charges."
Plummer declined to provide further details, but the drug cases against the pair offer some insight into their relationships with the victims.
According to the charges filed against Payne, confidential sources told investigators that Payne and Lewis used Washington's apartment to sell crack cocaine.
Police were told that Payne and Lewis didn't live there but they used the apartment to sell crack, and confidential sources told police they bought cocaine from both Lewis, Payne and "their associate, Mikal Jackson-Stevenson, at this location numerous times," according to the charges.
One of the confidential sources claimed to have bought crack cocaine from Payne about 50 times between October 2019 and May 27, buying between half a gram to three grams each time. The informant said those transactions ranged in price from $50 to $300, and Payne sometimes delivered the cocaine to the source's home.
Police said a confidential source told investigators that Lewis sold crack from Washington's apartment and the source had bought half a gram to one gram of crack for $50 to $100 from Lewis about 30 times. Lewis would deliver the cocaine to the source's home, either alone or with Payne.
Another confidential source told police they bought crack at 2606 Beale Ave. The second informant also claimed to have witnessed Payne selling crack to others at the apartment and that Payne sold them cocaine at least twice.
In one incident, Payne allegedly sold fake crack cocaine, police were told by the sources.
Police noted that both sources picked Payne out of photo line-ups.
A search of Washington's phone after her death allegedly revealed text messages between Washington and both Payne and Lewis.
Police pointed out messages on different occasions, included statements such as, "I need one" or "I need two," with Payne responding he was on his way, Altoona police Detective Cpl. Shane Strobel and Detective Cpl. Derrick Tardive wrote in Payne's drug charges. Police noted amounts such as "200" or "200 more" were also sent to Payne, to which he would reply that he was on his way.
Messages between Washington and Lewis also contained language police said was consistent with drug deals, with text messages from Lewis stating, "I got 3 left," while a message from Washington on one occasion asked, "U got?"
A source also provided police with their cellphone that contained messages with Lewis discussing drug sales that corroborated what the source told investigators, according to the charges.
In one message exchange, Washington stated, "If your brother comes around today or anything else please let me know," prompting Lewis to respond, "Ok babes I definitely let you know."
The source told investigators that Lewis referred to Jackson-Stevenson as her brother and Payne as "Zay."
Both Payne and Lewis were jailed Wednesday night after their arraignment on the drug cases by Magisterial District Judge Daniel DeAntonio, who set bail for each at $50,000 cash.
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.