HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Philadelphia man who was allegedly part of a drug trafficking duo is heading for trial, with his jury selection scheduled for mid-January.

Taufeeq Ameer Dixon, 30, appeared in front of Judge Jackie Atherton Bernard in Blair County court alongside defense attorney William Wigman for a preliminary call of the list hearing to assess the status of his case.

Wigman, who told Bernard he had only been assigned to Dixon’s case about two weeks prior, expressed uncertainty in his ability to be prepared for trial within that time frame. He and Dixon ultimately chose to go ahead with the jury selection, with the trial dates to be determined at a later time.

Dixon is facing single felony counts of criminal conspiracy to engage in possession with intent to deliver and possession with intent to deliver, as well as single misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and fraud.

Court documents state that officers initiated a traffic stop on Dixon in late July in the area of Fifth Avenue and 17th Street after he and co-defendant George Hechavarria-Hernandez, 30, pulled out of a Sheetz parking lot without using a turn signal.

Following the traffic stop that led to their arrest, Hechavarria-Hernandez was questioned by officers as to the origin of his large amount of cash. According to the affidavit of probable cause, Hechavarria-Hernandez said he owned a trucking business and that he and Dixon were returning to Philadelphia from trying to land a job in West Virginia. Officers then spoke to Dixon, who said Hechavarria-Hernandez owned a construction company.

A search warrant executed on the vehicle yielded about 1.5 ounces of crack cocaine, about $5,453 in cash, a large digital scale with residue, a small digital scale, a box of sandwich bags, a white tray with marijuana residue, two black bags containing zip-top bags with marijuana residue, rolling paper and two cellphones, the report stated.

Officers also reported finding that the vehicle’s inspection stickers had been forged.

Dixon’s Blair County case remained inactive while he was being held at the Delaware County Prison on $200,000 bail. He is now being housed at the Blair County Prison on $200,000 bail, with a retainer from Delaware County in place.

Hechavarria-Hernandez is being held at the Blair County Prison in lieu of $100,000 and $200,000 bail, respectively. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 27 in front of Bernard.

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