Dillard

A Philadelphia man accused of trafficking drugs to the Blair County area had all charges against him bound to the court of common pleas following a preliminary hearing in Blair County Central Court on Wednesday.

Donte Jamal Dillard, 35, is facing two felony charges each of possession with intent to deliver, conspiracy – possession with intent to deliver and a felony count of escape, along with misdemeanor charges of evading arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.

Dillard was taken into custody alongside Damar Michael Holmes, 33, who Altoona police were initially looking for as he was wanted on an active arrest warrant from a controlled purchase made by a confidential informant in May.

Altoona Narcotics Officer Stephen Fox testified during the proceedings, saying he was in full uniform as part of the arrest team. Working off a tip, officers were surveilling the area of 13th Street and 11th Avenue when Holmes exited a Greyhound bus with another individual, who was later identified as Dillard.

Fox and another officer stepped out of their patrol unit and identified themselves, he said. While Holmes stopped, Dillard kept walking.

Fox said they told Dillard to stop again, to which Dillard said “no, man” and started running. He was ultimately apprehended after tripping over a bush.

Altoona Officer Garrett Trent also testified during the hearing, saying investigators’ intent was to arrest Holmes and no one else, as they only had Holmes’s arrest warrant. When asked by Dillard’s attorney Edwin Leon how officers knew Dillard was with Holmes, Trent said the pair were “talking and laughing together.”

“I was the one who physically watched them walk off the bus together,” Trent said. “I knew others were involved in the case, so my conclusion was they were coming from Philadelphia to go to the trap house together.”

Fox said there had been a third person with them as they exited the bus, but they went their separate ways. Dillard was briefly placed in the back of Fox’s patrol vehicle, which included K-9 Officer Blue’s separated area, while officers stopped, identified and cleared the third person.

Dillard was then placed into Officer Mark Anderson’s patrol vehicle, Fox said.

While in the back of Anderson’s vehicle, Dillard made “exaggerated movements” before there was a “thud,” Trent said. A green bag containing 224 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 14 grams of crack cocaine was later found in the back of the vehicle after Dillard had been taken into APD.

Trent said Dillard claimed ownership of the drugs and said he bought them to get high.

Through further questioning, Trent acknowledged that Anderson “failed to comply with protocol” in checking his assigned patrol vehicle before his shift for anything that might have been left behind by a previous detainee.

In answering a similar series of questions, Fox said his patrol vehicle is “take-home” as it’s a K-9 unit; he cleans it after every shift and checks the back after every detainee has exited.

Fox also said K-9 Officer Blue was not deployed on either Dillard or Holmes.

“Blue very well could have been in his kennel staring at Mr. Dillard,” Fox said when Leon asked if Blue gave an alert. “I wasn’t aware of any alert. I wasn’t looking for one.”

During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Thomas said he stood by the testimony given in asking for all charges to be sent to the court of common pleas.

Leon said his “arguments won’t be very elaborate,” saying “I don’t believe the Commonwealth has met its burden.”

Presiding Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones ultimately disagreed, holding all charges against Dillard. He remains in custody at the Blair County Prison on $200,000 bail, where he awaits his next court appearance on Sept. 5.

Holmes is facing three felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, single felony counts of conspiracy – possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility, as well as two misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and a single misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He also remains in custody at the Blair County Prison with bail denied, awaiting his next court appearance on Aug. 26.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.