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A city man suspected of running a drug trafficking operation out of his Altoona residence had all charges against him bound to the court of common pleas following a preliminary hearing in Blair County court on Wednesday.
Larry David Tobias, 41, is facing one felony count each of possession of firearm prohibited, receiving stolen property, delivery or possession with intent to deliver and one misdemeanor count each of intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered, possession of marijuana and use/possession of drug paraphernalia.
Unable to post $100,000 bail, he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His formal arraignment is scheduled for May 10.
The charges stem from a welfare check that a witness requested for his girlfriend Ivory McCartney after she failed to come out of a home on the 1900 block of 13th Avenue.
The witness testified during the hearing that McCartney had told him about possible sex trafficking occurring at the residence and he became concerned she was being held against her will. He said that he had driven her there to collect some belongings and he waited about 15 or 20 minutes before knocking on the door and asking for McCartney.
The witness said that a woman answered the door at first and told him that McCartney had gone to the Dollar Store. When the witness went to the Dollar Store, he said McCartney wasn't there, so he went back to the residence to ask for her again.
This time, the witness said that Tobias answered and was wearing a "beanie" and "gator mask" that was covering his face from the nose down. He said he asked Tobias to let him know when McCartney returned because they were supposed to go home.
When First District Attorney Nicole Smith asked the witness if Tobias said anything to him, the witness said that Tobias told him to leave.
"He said to leave her sh** on the curb and get the f*** out of Altoona," the witness said.
The witness said that Tobias was holding a gun in his left hand and that it was "clearly a firearm."
"The only thing I could think was to call for a welfare check because he ran me out of there," the witness said, adding that he called the Altoona Police Department within minutes of leaving.
Upon cross examination, the witness said that while he had never seen or met Tobias before, he was able to remember who he was due to Tobias' face tattoo.
APD Detective Eric Heuston also testified, saying that when he and other officers arrived on scene, they asked Tobias if they could search for McCartney inside the residence. Heuston said that Tobias told them to come back with a warrant.
As the witness had reported seeing Tobias with a gun, Heuston said officers pulled Tobias out of the residence and took him into custody to prevent him from arming himself. Once inside the home, Heuston said they called out for McCartney several times and eventually found her hiding on the floor of the bedroom because she had a warrant out for her arrest.
While inside the residence, Heuston said that officers were able to see firearms and drug paraphernalia in plain view and described how the closet of Tobias' bedroom had been turned into a drug packaging station. They obtained a search warrant for these items and seized 177 Ecstasy pills, valued at $3,540; 8 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, valued at $85; 2.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine, valued at $250, taken from the bedroom and from Tobias' person; 10 suboxone strips packaged in quantities of two for resale and 6.5 naloxone pills, estimated value of $210; 4.5 grams of marijuana, $70; and less than half a gram of cocaine.
Officers also confiscated packaging material, four digital scales, small spoons, a large digital safe containing identification for Tobias, ammunition, a bag of cash, a handgun, a .22 rifle, a tackle box containing a number of accessories and gun parts, Heuston said.
Following testimony, neither the prosecution or defense gave closing arguments and presiding Magisterial District Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio bound all charges to court.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.