WEST DEER — A West Leechburg man will stand trial on a second charge of heroin possession in as many months.
Bashir Joseph Masaoud, 19, of Main Street, West Leechburg, was held for court Wednesday. He was arrested along Route 28 in March and accused of transporting 100 stamp bags of heroin from Pittsburgh to sell in West Leechburg.
Just weeks earlier, in February, Masaoud was arrested along Route 28 after state police say he hit a trooper and attempted to flee during a traffic stop. Police say they found 102 bags of heroin on Masaoud.
He faces charges of aggravated and simple assault, resisting arrest, drug possession and sales and possession of drug paraphernalia from that case.
He waived those charges to court during an earlier preliminary hearing.
District Judge Suzanne Blaschak on Wednesday held the latest charges against Masaoud — drug possession and conspiracy — for court after hearing testimony from the same state trooper that Masaoud is accused of scuffling with in February.
Tpr. Jeremy Bowser told Blaschak that he pulled over a car in which Masaoud was riding for failure to signal a turn.
He said he recognized the driver as someone he charged earlier with driving without a license. Then, he recognized Masaoud, who was in the front passenger seat.
When he announced that he was going to search the car, Bowser said another passenger in the car, Dennelle Jean Tira, 18, of Ford City, handed a bag containing heroin to Trp. Michael Zampogna, who also was at the scene.
Tira, who also had drug possession and conspiracy charges held for court, told the troopers that she and Masaoud planned to use 50 of the bags of heroin for themselves and sell the rest in the Leechburg area, Bowser testified.
The driver of the car, Timothy James Rager, 37, of Leechburg, was held for court on the same charges as Masaoud and Tira.
Police say Masaoud told them that Rager was to be paid in cash for driving.
Chuck Biedka can be reached at cbiedka@tribweb.com.
