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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County jury is being asked to decide if an Altoona area man is a drug seller, based on 23 grams of fentanyl, xylazine and drug paraphernalia that parole agents and police found inside his residence during a June 22, 2022, search.
Niheim Jabril Miller, 37, who went on trial Monday in Blair County Court, has suffered with a drug addiction for much of his life, defense attorney Julia Burke told the jury in her opening statement.
She maintains that the drugs found inside his residence, then on the 300 block of 60th Street, were for personal use.
District Attorney Pete Weeks, however, told the jury that Miller is a user and a distributor, as reflected in the amount of fentanyl found at his residence and xylazine, commonly referred to as tranq.
On the day of the search and Miller's arrest, xylazine -- a large animal veterinary sedative -- wasn't classified as a controlled substance. That changed in June when Pennsylvania outlawed human consumption, following dozens of overdoses and reports of users developing serious skin ulcers and abscesses.
State parole agent Dylan Fishbaine testified Monday that upon arriving early at Miller's residence on June 22, 2022, he noticed Miller pushing items into his pockets. A urine test was positive for fentanyl use, he said.
State parole supervisor Matt Soellner, who accompanied Fishbaine, said Miller told them that he had a dangerous substance -- tranq -- in his left pocket. Miller also reported to be in withdrawal, so arrangements were made to have him examined at UPMC Altoona, Soellner said, where he was cleared.
Allegheny Township police, contacted by the parole officers, seized several items in a search of Miller's residence. Those included mixing devices, strainers, a digital scale, hypodermic needles, pipes, dozens of small glassine bags and rubber bands to consolidate the bags.
Allegheny Township Detective Richard Brant said he and Cpl. Caleb Nixon of the Altoona Police Department, a member of the Blair County Drug Task Force, interviewed Miller later in the day. They said he told them he had just bought 32 grams of fentanyl from a Philadelphia source for $28,000. They also said he reported a daily consumption of large amounts of fentanyl, but Nixon said the amount claimed would have far exceeded a typical user's consumption.
When asked if Miller appeared to be under the influence at the time of the interview, Nixon said no.
The trial could wrap up today or Wednesday.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.