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An Edwardsville man wanted by the Luzerne County Sheriff’s Department was arraigned Wednesday morning after he was arrested last month and found with a backpack containing suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Tyler Bradley Vida, 29, was taken into custody on Oct. 30 of this year after officers from the Kingston Municipal Police Department spotted Vida walking along Main Street and identified him as wanted through the NCIC database, the criminal complaint filed against Vida states.
According to the complaint:
Officers from Kingston spotted Vida and a female walking west on Main Street in Kingston at approximately 10:35 a.m. on Oct. 30.
A search in the NCIC system confirmed that Vida was wanted by the county sheriff’s department.
As Vida and the female approached a nearby Turkey Hill convenience store, additional officers were called to the scene and, once they arrived, Vida was taken into custody.
He was wearing a backpack, which was removed from Vida before officers placed him in handcuffs.
The backpack was searched, and officers found a pink-colored pouch inside containing numerous syringes.
A separate pouch also found in the backpack contained one bag of crystal methamphetamine (determined to be aboue 13.9 grams with packaging), one white bag containing suspected heroin/fentanyl, one digital scale with methamphetamine residue, two cut straws with residue, a glass methamphetamine pipe and a glass marijuana pipe.
The female was identified as Jacqueline Siegenthal, and a search in NCIC determined that she was wanted by the Carbondale Police Department for misdemeanor drug charges.
After being transported back to the Kingston police headquarters, Vida consented to an interview without his attorney present, according to the criminal complaint.
Vida told police that he possessed the methamphetamine for both personal use and for sale. He said that he sells ounces of crystal methamphetamine for approximately $350-$400, grams for $40 and 3.5 grams (known as an eight-ball) for $100.
He told investigators that he had purchased the methamphetamine earlier in the day, and said that he would only use “a gram or less” for himself, selling the rest.
Further questioning revealed that Vida arranges the majority of his drug transactions via Facebook Messenger and TextNow, and that he had been selling drugs for approximately 16 years.
He was transported to Luzerne County Correctional Facility that day on the outstanding warrant.
On Wednesday, Vida was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo Jr. and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, along with misdemeanor charges of intentional possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was remanded to the county correctional facility, and was later released on $75,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.