HOLLIDAYSBURG — The second of three men charged by Altoona police after an investigation into claims of forced drug use and sex trafficking inside a city apartment building has pleaded guilty to drug delivery, criminal conspiracy, dealing in unlawful proceeds and reckless endangerment.

Jason Oliver, 46, entered guilty pleas Thursday in Blair County court for a sentence of 6.5- to 13-months’ incarceration, followed by five-years’ probation.

In exchange for the pleas, prosecutors dropped additional charges including rape of an unconscious victim, rape of a substantially impaired person, kidnapping and sexual assault.

Oliver’s negotiated plea mirrored one that his co-defendant, Solomon G. Shackelford, 31, of Pittsburgh, entered in December in Blair County court. At that time, District Attorney Pete Weeks said he backed away from seeking convictions on Shackelford’s sexual assault charges because there was no certainty that the female victim would be able to testify in court.

President Judge Wade A. Kagarise, who imposed Shackelford’s negotiated sentence of one- to two-years’ incarceration, followed by fiveyears’ probation, also handed down Oliver’s sentence, which put him in a position to be released from prison.

Kagarise told Oliver that because he has been incarcerated for longer than the maximum portion of his sentence, he was eligible to be released and would immediately start his probation.

Defense attorney Scott Pletcher told Kagarise that his client was interested in relocating to North Carolina and having his probation supervised there. Kagarise said he had no objection as long as arrangements are approved by the Blair County parole and probation office and the supervising agency in North Carolina.

The charges against Oliver, Shackelford and a third co-defendant, Andre Turner, 43, Altoona, developed from an Altoona police investigation into the report of a missing woman. When officers found her on the 600 block of Fifth Street, she was crying and told an officer she didn’t want to be hurt anymore.

Police said the woman spoke of being repeatedly raped, forced into consuming drugs and of being forced to engage in sexual activity while under the influence of those drugs. She spoke of having been at different locations, including “The Taylor” from which she escaped.

Police subsequently began surveillance of the Taylor Apartments, 1115 13th Ave., then secured a search warrant. The evidence collected included a bag of suspected fentanyl, multiple pieces of bedding with suspected body fluids, dirty underwear, drug paraphernalia, a digital video recorder, multiple cellphones and $2,505 in cash.

Turner, who remains incarcerated on the same charges that Altoona police filed against Oliver and Shackelford, is scheduled to be in court on March 6 for a review of his charges.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.