Additional charges have been filed against a Bradford man who was arrested over the weekend for an alleged methamphetamine operation found in March.
The new charges are due to allegations that the man — William T. Puskar, 35, who is homeless — was in possession of meth and marijuana at the time of his arrest.
The new charges are possession of a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use and possession of drug paraphernalia, all misdemeanors.
He was arraigned on the new charges Wednesday before District Judge Dominic Cercone, who set bail at $10,000, and a Central Court appearance is set for Dec. 19.
According to the criminal complaint in the new case, around 2 p.m. Sunday, a Bradford City police officer — who knew Puskar had an active felony arrest warrant out for him — spotted Puskar walking in the area of Congress Street and Congress Place. The officer contacted another officer about Puskar’s presence, and the second officer went to the scene. Puskar allegedly began to run from police, ignoring verbal commands from police telling him to stop. He ran behind a residence, where police took him into custody.
During a subsequent search of Puskar’s person, police found marijuana, meth, an unknown white powder, syringes and a homemade meth-smoking device, court records stated.
Puskar was arraigned Sunday on felony and misdemeanor drug charges that were filed Oct. 1 and stem from an incident in March.
The criminal complaint in that case states that around 6:50 p.m. March 2, police were dispatched to an East Avenue home to speak to a mother and daughter who just found out a family member — another daughter who was a minor — had a meth-making operation in her bedroom.
According to the complaint, the girl, whose age was not listed, was allowing Puskar cook meth in the house and letting him in through a side entrance without her mother’s knowledge.
Court records did not state the connection between Puskar and the girl.
Altogether, police seized 26 items from the home related to manufacturing meth, including a plastic pop bottle with metallic objects inside that appeared to be a “one pot” or “shake and bake” meth operation, according to the complaint. This was recovered in a mud room. Other items police found in the residence included salt, a pipe, coffee filters and a hair dryer.
A state police Clandestine Lab Team was brought in to recover items related to the meth operation, and the mother was told the home would need to be professionally cleaned and a placard placed on the door.
Puskar is incarcerated in McKean County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail in the meth lab case, and he is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Thursday for this case.
