Beck

Beck

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<p>Kosdick</p>

Kosdick

HAZLETON — Police on Saturday arrested two Freeland men and seized a firearm, pills and suspected heroin and fentanyl after a traffic stop for running a stop sign.

Wesley Beck Jr., 22, and Jason Kosdick, 20, were unable to post bail and were committed to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.

A 15-year-old boy also was taken into custody and later released to his father from Beaver Meadows.

According to police: Beck was driving a 2015 Volkswagen and failed ran a stop sign at the intersection of Diamond Avenue and Grant at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday. The officer pulled over the Volkswagen and detected the smell of marijuana inside it.

Beck told the officer he was going to pick up a friend and apologized for running the stop sign. Other Hazleton police officers responded as back-ups and Beck was removed from the Volkswagen. Police removed Kosdick who was a passenger in the front seat.

One of the officers saw the boy passenger in the back seat reaching around and into his right pants pocket. When the boy failed to comply with the officer’s commands, officers removed him from the Volkswagen and taken into custody. Police searched the boy and found suspected marijuana and pills.

During a search of the Volkswagen police found a Kel-Tec firearm under the driver’s seat. The gun seized and placed into evidence. The gun was registered to a person in Freeland, who, when contacted by police, said it was sold last summer, but could not remember the buyer’s name.

Police further searched the Volkswagen and in the center console found a silver scale with white residue, a black pouch containing suspected oxycodone and drug paraphernalia. Beck was searched and had 49½ oxycodone hydrochloride pills, 41 clonazepam pills and approximately 7.8 grams of suspected heroin/fentanyl.

Police drove Kosdick, Beck and the teenage boy to Hazleton City Hall. Kosdick and Beck were taken to the count prison for overnight arraignments.

Kosdick, whose bail was set at $5,000, was charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

Beck, whose bail was set at $20,000, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia and summary violations.

Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.