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Man sentenced to county prison for pot, THC oil

What began as a traffic stop and ended with the discovery of $2,000 in cash, a large amount of marijuana and highly concentrated THC oil has landed a driver in county prison.

The man, 22-year-old Shariff Ato Coleman, was sentenced last week in Lycoming County Court to serve three to 12 months in county prison and two years under supervision for the 2014 incident.

Coleman was found guilty of possession with intent to deliver the drugs, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia after his one-day, non-jury trial presided over by Judge Richard A. Gray in November, according to court documents.

Coleman ran a stop sign in the area of Sixth Avenue on July 19, 2014, according to an affidavit filed by state police. After missing the stop, police said, the Audi he was driving remained in the westbound lane of Park Avenue.

Both the state police car and the Audi indicated for the other to move by flashing their lights, but the Audi remained in the intersection for another 30 seconds before turning and stopping in the northbound lane of Third Avenue.

It was there the police pulled Coleman over.

A heavy odor of marijuana immediately was detected as two troopers approached the car, according to the affidavit.

The troopers said they found in the car two heat-sealed sleeves of marijuana, about $2,000 in cash, a large heat-sealed bag of between 1/2 pound and 1 pound of marijuana, two containters of marijuana oil – strong concentrated THC oil, sometimes referred to as “dabs” – and a butane torch and paraphernalia to smoke it.

The court noted after Coleman’s trial that the intent to deliver charge was supported by the substantial quantity and high grade of drugs and a very substantial amount of cash for a young person to possess, according to court records.

Coleman also will have to serve 75 hours of community service as part of his sentence.

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