Metro

An Ohio man is behind bars with bail denied after a traffic stop led to police allegedly discovering about $150,000 worth of narcotics in his vehicle.

Tyrone Anderson Hall, 47, was arraigned Wednesday by Magisterial District Judge Kevin Stoltz on a felony count of possession with intent to deliver and single misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and DUI, as well as summary traffic violations. Hall was remanded to the Blair County Prison with bail denied for “public safety,” online court documents state.

Altoona officers were patrolling the area of Seventh Avenue and 17th Street about 9:40 p.m. Feb. 24 when they saw a 2026 Kia Sportage turn the wrong way onto Seventh Avenue as it was leaving the Sheetz parking lot at 1701 Seventh Ave. Officers reported seeing the vehicle stop under the opposite facing red light of 17th Street before crossing and proceeded in the wrong direction along the 1600 block of Seventh Avenue, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

When officers performed a traffic stop on the vehicle, Hall apologized and said, “I’m not from around here, I was driving to Ohio.” Officers noted Hall’s slurred speech and the smell of marijuana and alcohol emanating from his person, the police report states.

Hall told officers the vehicle was rented by his cousin, who lived “just up the street.” He said he was at a bar, went to his cousin’s house, went to Sheetz for food and was now returning to his cousin’s house. Hall then told officers his cousin actually lived in Ohio, the report states.

Hall exited the vehicle at officer’s request and was patted down. Officers reported finding blunt wraps in Hall’s pocket. They then performed a standard field sobriety test on Hall, which he failed. A subsequent preliminary breath test was positive for alcohol, the report states.

After Hall was taken into custody, officers inspected the vehicle in preparation of having it towed. They reported seeing a black package wrapped in tape inside the passenger seat’s rear pouch. Officers then requested a K-9 officer to conduct an open-air sniff of the vehicle. K-9 Officer Pongo reported to the scene and alerted the officers to the presence of narcotics within the vehicle, the report states.

A search warrant executed on the vehicle yielded about 1,651 grams or 3.6 pounds of suspected cocaine and $24 in cash. About 1,034 grams or 2.2 pounds were wrapped into a brick with multiple layers of packaging material that appeared to have been soaked in vinegar.

Officers estimated the street value of the cocaine to be about $150,000, the report states.

Hall is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 1 before Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones.