State police seize 2,000 bags of heroin at Murrysville Sheetz

The Pennsylvania State Police Troop A Community Enforcement Team on Friday seized 2,120 stamp bags of heroin from a suspect at the Sheetz on Route 22 in Murrysville.

Officers were surveilling the business after receiving information that Damonte Jones, 19, of Pittsburgh would be transporting a large quantity of heroin to Westmoreland County.

Jones arrived in a taxi about 11:30 a.m.

Officers arrested him and seized the drugs, which have a street value of about $35,000.

Jones was arraigned before District Judge Charles Conway on charges of manufacture, delivery or possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was denied bail and is being held in Westmoreland County Prison.

He is scheduled to appear before Conway for a preliminary hearing Feb. 13.

Jones was arrested in Stowe Township in May 2017 on felony charges of possessing a firearm without a license and manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, according to court records. He is awaiting trial in Allegheny County, which is scheduled to begin March 6.

It was the second major heroin arrest in Westmoreland County in as many days.

On Thursday, troopers arrested Philadelphia resident David Manuel Mora after finding about 25,000 stamp bags worth of heroin in his Jeep during a traffic stop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt. Pleasant.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646, jtierney@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Soolseem.