HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Philadelphia man police found to be in possession of more than $22,000 worth of narcotics was sentenced to five to 15 years in a state correctional facility after taking a plea deal in Blair County Court on Friday.

Tyrone Chase Jr., 29, pleaded guilty to single felony counts of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, possession with intent to deliver cocaine and conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver. In exchange for his plea, the remaining charges of single misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as single summary counts of improper sunscreening and driving while operating privileges revoked were dismissed.

During the hearing, a second case against Chase involving possessing contraband in the Blair County Prison was joined with his drug case so he could plead and be sentenced in both at the same time.

In the contraband case, Chase pleaded guilty to both misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 2.5 to five years in prison, with the sentence to run concurrent with his drug sentence.

Presiding Judge Jackie Atherton Bernard also ordered Chase to pay $500 in fines, have no contact with co-defendant Ruben Almando Rivera and pay $113 to the state crime labs for any lab testing done in the case.

When given the chance to speak prior to being sentenced, Chase told Bernard he took full accountability for being in possession of the drugs and that he learned from his mistakes. He said he just wanted to get back to his wife and kids in Philadelphia.

Bernard asked Chase if he was employed prior to his arrest, to which he said no. She then questioned how he could support his children if he never worked.

“By making the wrong choices,” Chase said.

When Bernard asked if that meant he supported his family through drug activity, Chase said yes.

Bernard told Chase that his drug activity not only affected his extended family, but the families of those who bought the drugs he trafficked.

“There is no easy money,” Bernard said. “If you find a way to make easy money, it’s probably illegal.”

The drug charges were brought against Chase on June 12 after he and Rivera, 30, were pulled over by Altoona police for a window tint violation. When officers asked Chase, who was driving the vehicle, where he was coming from, he couldn’t provide an exact address. Officers noted Chase and Rivera gave conflicting versions of events.

Once the pair exited the vehicle, officers deployed the department’s K-9 officer, who conducted an open-air sniff of the vehicle and alerted to the presence of controlled substances. A search of the vehicle yielded about 585 bags of heroin/

fentanyl with a street value of $11,700, one gram of loose fentanyl valued at $500, 100 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $10,000 and about $1,274 in cash.

Rivera faces three felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, a single felony count of conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver and single misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He remains in custody at the Blair County Prison in lieu of $400,000.

The contraband charges were brought against Chase after surveillance footage at the prison allegedly showed Chase’s cellmate and co-defendant Kemar Ricketts, 35, taking a book from the cell of co-defendant Amir Ishan Palmer-Kennedy, 20. The book was discovered to be hollowed out so it could contain a cellphone. An investigation revealed that certain numbers on the cellphone that had been communicated with were solely associated with Chase, indicating he had been in possession of the device at some point in the prison.

Palmer-Kennedy and Ricketts both remain in custody at the prison in lieu of bail. They await hearings on the contraband case, as well as separate cases.

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