HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Philadelphia man scheduled for jury selection Monday afternoon was sentenced to three and a half to 15 years in a state correctional facility after accepting a plea agreement rather than proceed to trial.

Ruben Almando Rivera, 31, was found by police to be in possession of more than $22,000 worth of narcotics while riding as a passenger in co-defendant Tyrone Chase Jr.’s vehicle following a traffic stop on June 12, 2025.

Appearing alongside defense attorney Brian Vincent Manchester, Rivera, 31, pleaded guilty to single felony counts of possession with intent to deliver cocaine and fentanyl and criminal conspiracy. Rivera was scheduled to have a jury selected for a trial set to begin later this year.

As part of the plea deal, Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks withdrew Rivera’s remaining charges of two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

In exchange for his guilty pleas, Judge Jackie Atherton Bernard sentenced Rivera to 42 to 180 months’ incarceration. Rivera was also ordered to pay the cost of prosecution, undergo cognitive behavioral therapy, mental health and drug and alcohol evaluations.

Rivera was taken into custody along with Chase, 30, after they 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.

Bernard sentenced Chase on Nov. 7 to five to 15 years in a state correctional facility after he 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.

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