RIDGWAY — The opioid epidemic has struck the region hard, and drug task forces have been stepping up to not only bust sellers, but to protect the public from the dangerous and sometimes lethal concoctions sold on the street.

Elk County is no exception. District Attorney Shawn McMahon spoke to The Era recently to talk about the drug problem in his county.

On Feb. 1, members of the Attorney General’s North Central Drug Task Force served search warrants on two locations in St. Marys, charging several people and seizing 38 bricks of heroin, nearly $15,000 in cash and other drugs, including methamphetamine and marijuana.

Four people were charged — John Pistner, Kimberly Gier, John Gier and Johnna Borrello. The locations searched were Pistner’s residence with Kimberly Gier, and his mother’s garage, court records stated.

“Certainly the case involving Mr. Pistner is a significant case, not only from the amount of controlled substances that were seized but also from the amount of cash that was seized,” McMahon said.

More search warrants were served in the case, and “an additional $14,000 was taken out of his ceiling in his garage,” the prosecutor said. “Right now we’re close to $48,000 that was seized, approximately.”

More than $40,000 in heroin was taken off the streets, as well as more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. All-terrain vehicles, which law enforcement believe were purchased with proceeds from drug sales, were seized as well, McMahon said.

Drug investigations are a priority for his office, he said, while noting that full-time county detective Gregg McManus devotes “the majority of his time to drug investigations and identifying individuals who are involved with drugs.”

Busts like the one involving Pistner and his co-defendants are infrequent, he said, adding, “It’s intensive work. Oftentimes law enforcement has to devote additional time away from their families.”

The complexity of investigations mean sometimes the suspects aren’t people from the local region.

“We have a case pending in Elk County right now from 2016,” McMahon said. “He’s from Kittanning. We’ve gone that far.”

The drugs in Elk County are largely coming from the Pittsburgh area, he explained.

Dealers are “going down (to Pittsburgh) and buying a stamped bag of heroin for $5 and selling it up here for $20,” he said. “If they cut their product with baking powder or whatever, they are able to expand the amount of their product and are able to sell it for more.”

Common in the illegal drug trade is branding of merchandise, McMahon said, explaining what stamped bags are.

“Each stamped bag has a brand — ‘Rolex,’ ‘Shine,’ I just saw one that was ‘Penn Avenue,’” he said.

The dealer will market the product. As an example, McMahon said, “Word gets around that ‘Rolex’ stuff is good.”

Good means potent. The potency can be “boosted” by adding fentanyl. The problem is, there aren’t exactly regulations telling a drug dealer how much fentanyl is safe to lace the heroin with, as everything about the process is illegal.

“You don’t know how much fentanyl is in it,” McMahon said.

And that’s often what causes a fatal overdose.

The prosecutor said fentanyl is the biggest concern for law enforcement in Elk County now because of its impact — “it’s game over.”

Yet heroin, methamphetamine, suboxone and subutex are problems, too.

“This whole drug issue and the opioid epidemic, the most significant thing about it is the effects it has on people. Essentially it’s an assault on the human spirit,” McMahon said. “People know no better. They don’t know a better life. They become used to getting up, getting high, getting up, getting high, getting arrested, going to jail, getting out, going to rehab, getting out and going back at it.

“How do you break that cycle?” he continued. “Eventually, at some point, we who are involved in the criminal justice system, what do we do?”

The current cycle can’t be sustained, with overburdened rural budgets, limited staff and the distance involved to send someone elsewhere for rehabilitation if local facilities are full.

McMahon spoke about what he’s seen as a prosecutor with many addicts — low self-esteem.

“They have no vision for themselves. They don’t have dreams,” he said. “They are just existing. They don’t work.”

Of course, there are functional people who are addicted as well, he said. Offering a word of caution to parents, McMahon said, “It’s important to ask kids what their dream is, what do you want to be? It’s a vision. It’s looking out.”

Regarding the recent heroin bust, McMahon said all four suspects face charges in Elk County Court.

All charges against Pistner, 23, were bound to court at a preliminary hearing before District Judge Mark Jacob, and Pistner remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail. He is represented by Ridgway attorney Gary Knaresboro.

Kimberly Gier, 29, waived her preliminary hearing, and is still jailed in lieu of $30,000 bail. She is represented by Joseph Ryan of Reynoldsville.

Charges against John Gier, 29, were bound over to Elk County Court at a hearing before Jacob, with the exception of one count of possessing a firearm, which was dismissed. He remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail. He is represented by attorney George Nejm Daghir of St. Marys.

Borrello, 27, of Kersey, waived a preliminary hearing. She remains jailed in lieu of $30,000 bail. She is represented by DuBois attorney Leanne Nedza.

All are scheduled for formal arraignment in Elk County Court on March 5.