Bradford resident James Nitsos will spend more than four years in state prison for convictions involving drug crimes and running from police for an incident in 2020.
Nitsos, 36, was sentenced Thursday in McKean County Court to 54 to 108 months in state prison after a conviction at trial on charges of flight to avoid apprehension, two counts of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and cocaine, one count of possession with intent to deliver a counterfeit controlled substance, which was etizolam made to look like Xanax; conspiracy at possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia.
Nitsos had been wanted by state parole in December of 2020 when he was spotted in the City of Bradford. An officer attempted to stop him, but Nitsos ran, leading to a foot chase before he was taken into custody. Officers searched him and found several plastic bags containing white prescription pills in his pants pocket. Also, they took a black fanny pack he was wearing that contained the following: small plastic baggies containing suspected methamphetamine, 17 yellow prescription containers of 8 mg buprenorphine/naloxone/sublingual film, three Visa cards belonging to other people, a driver’s license, someone else’s medical marijuana card, 14.4 grams of meth and a digital scale with a white powder on it, according to the criminal complaint.
On Thursday, McKean County District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer issued a statement about the drug etizolam.
Shaffer, Elk County District Attorney Thomas Coppolo and Cameron County District Attorney Paul Malizia “issued a joint press release on April 13, 2021, and sent letters urging lawmakers to list the drug Etizolam as a Schedule I controlled substance in Pennsylvania,” she said.
“The three district attorneys notified lawmakers that Etizolam had been seen in this part of Pennsylvania in the prior months, first discovered by police in our area in St Marys in October of 2020,” Shaffer continued. “The DAs cited the potency of the drug and its ties to fatalities in the United States.
“In McKean County, Etizolam was found in pills marked to look like Xanax. In Cameron County, the drug was found in fake candy that had been ingested by school children,” she said. “The DAs expressed concern for the safety of area citizens, including young children and also their concern that their prosecutorial ability is impacted by the fact that Etizolam has evaded categorization as a controlled substance under the statute in Pennsylvania — eroding the prosecutors’ ability to seek a punishment that fits the crime of giving fake pills or fake candy to citizens.”
She said the three prosecutors, working closely with Attorney General Special Agent Fred Myers, were monitoring the presence of etizolam in this part of Pennsylvania.
