Metro

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Preliminary hearings were held Tuesday in the Blair County Courthouse for several members of an alleged Altoona drug ring.

Presiding over the hearings in Courtroom 1, Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones heard testimony from Altoona police, as well as two of the suspects, who testified for the prosecution in exchange for leniency.

In total, seven local residents were charged after a grand jury investigation into the drug overdose death of a Blair County woman in November 2022, according to court documents.

Charged in the investigation were Rickey Joyner, 44; Tareek Alquan Hemingway, 32; Cecylia Antoinette Thompson, 32; Matthew Lewis Rodriguez, 39; Kirsten Lindsay Wright, 35; and Milton Williams, 48, all of Altoona; and Laura Rutherford Horne, 28, Hollidaysburg.

Of the seven, only Joyner is facing a charge — murder of the third degree — related to the overdose death. He faces nine additional felony charges related to the possession and distribution of illicit drugs. His preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 19. He is in the Blair County Prison, with bail denied.

The other six charged with taking part in distributing drugs in Blair County were in court Tuesday, with Williams, Horne and Thompson waiving all of their charges on to the Court of Common Pleas. After waiving, Williams was returned to prison, unable to post $500,000 bail.

Thompson then testified against Rodriguez, while Horne testified against Hemingway, Wright and Rodriguez.

During the proceedings, Altoona Officer Garrett Trent testified, stating that Hemingway had “multiple run-ins associated with drugs” and became a suspect after he told a confidential informant where to purchase drugs.

Trent said that on Feb. 1, a CI contacted Hemingway via Facebook Messenger to set up a drug buy and later purchased about one gram of fentanyl for $300 at the residence of Horne, Hemingway’s then-girlfriend.

Trent said officers learned, during the investigation, that Hemingway was also in possession of a firearm while on state parole and allegedly asked Horne to take care of it. Horne volunteered the story to officers and took them to the firearm’s location, Trent said.

Hemingway’s defense attorney, public defender Julia Burke, questioned Trent’s recounting of the sequence of events and asked about the CI’s role. Trent explained the CI’s actions and, when asked, said he wasn’t sure if the CI ever purchased drugs for himself from Hemingway, before becoming a CI.

During her testimony, Horne talked about her relationship with Hemingway, about selling cocaine and about how she decided to get clean. She also testified about the gun, stating she buried the firearm outside her relative’s lakehouse because she “didn’t know what to do with it.”

When asked by Burke, Horne gave conflicting information about the gun, stating that it was given to her by an unknown man in a paint can. She said it was untouched, but later said it was wrapped in a T-shirt.

Burke asked to have the felony charge of corrupt organizations dropped, to which Jones agreed. In addition, Burke sought to have bail set for Hemingway.

In response, Jones said he was “not adjusting Hemingway’s bail today” because he violated the terms of his state parole.

Hemingway’s charges of possession of a firearm prohibited, three felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility were all bound over to court.

Hemingway was returned to the prison and is being held without bail.

Wright gets bail modified

During the preliminary hearing for Wright, Trent testified about the actions taken by Wright during the execution of a search warrant on her home in August 2024.

Trent said police had knowledge that Joyner was dating Wright, staying at her home on the 1400 block of 14th Avenue and storing drugs at the home.

When police arrived to conduct the search, Wright was seen by another law enforcement officer throwing small bags of cocaine, a scale and her phone out of a side window, Trent said.

In her closing argument, public defender Kristen Anastasi said Wright is not mentioned as a potential target individual, and there is no proof or indication of drug sales on her phone. She also does not have a prior criminal record, Anastasi said.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Michael Madeira said Wright has previously been involved with Altoona Police Department investigations.

At the end of Wright’s hearing, Jones withdrew the felony charge of corrupt organizations and a felony charge of conspiracy.

In addition, Jones changed her bail from $500,000 to $500,000 unsecured. She was later released from custody.

Rodriguez’s charges bound to court

Rodriguez, whose preliminary hearing was held in conjunction with Hemingway and Wright, and also separately, saw all 15 of his felony charges bound over to court, including corrupt organizations, conspiracy and 10 counts of possession with intent to deliver.

Horne testified against Rodriguez, stating that Rodriguez used her car multiple times for eight- to 10-hour periods, but Joyner never explicitly told her where Rodriguez would go.

She assumed Rodriguez went to Baltimore to buy drugs, testifying that Joyner would drop off drugs at a location before returning her car. If she asked for drugs, Joyner would tell her to “wait until Rodriguez gets back.”

If Joyner was unavailable, Horne testified that she would purchase cocaine from Rodriguez.

She saw Rodriguez with drugs before when she bought cocaine from him but never after taking a trip, she said.

In the separate hearing against Rodriguez, Thompson said she met Joyner in 2021 and Rodriguez in 2023 around the date she lost her job due to her cocaine addiction. She used cocaine from 2021-24, Thompson testified, and also sold and stored drugs.

Thompson said Joyner told her to “expect Rodriguez” at her apartment sometimes with cocaine, but other times he would show up unexpectedly.

From October 2023 to May 2024, she initially said Rodriguez stopped by her apartment “more than five times,” but after further questioning from the defense, she clarified her answer to “every two weeks.”

He stopped showing up at her apartment in May 2024 after being stopped by police for possession of cocaine, Thompson said.

Thompson, under Joyner’s direction, also kept a spiral notebook of his incoming cash and sales in 2024 since he told her he was “short on money.” Accounts were taken in the book, including Rodriguez, who was marked as “M,” and Horne, who was marked as “L.”

When Altoona police conducted a search warrant of her apartment in August 2024, they did not find the notebook. She turned it into the police later, she said during her testimony.

Supervising narcotics agent Jarod Quist testified against Rodriguez, stating he saw 16 Cash App transactions from Joyner to Rodriguez totaling under $2,000.

The transactions were labeled as rent, food or bills, Quist said, but there is “no reason why Joyner would be paying for rent or food for Rodriguez.”

Rodriguez’s attorney Richard M. Corcoran said Rodriguez has never been convicted of a crime, but Madeira said Rodriguez played a significant role in the drug organization.

Jones denied the defense’s request for bail reduction and scheduled Rodriguez’s trial for Oct. 27. He remains in prison, unable to post $500,000 bail.

For her testimony, Horne had her bail modified from 10% of $150,000 to $150,000 unsecured. She has been out of prison after posting bail on July 1.

Thompson also had her bail modified to $150,000 unsecured, from 10% of $150,000.

Rodriguez, Wright, Hemingway, Williams, Horne and Thompson will face formal arraignment on Sept. 19.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.