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Charges of felony delivery of controlled substance and illegal use of a cell phone against Muhammad Davis will go to trial, District Judge Aaron Biichle ruled Friday.
During an afternoon preliminary hearing, a member of the Lycoming County Narcotics Enforcement Unit testified that she was present when a confidential informant contacted Davis about acquiring pills.
"You still got those percs?" the informant asked, according to the NEU. "Percs" is a slang term for Percocet, it was explained.
Davis responded that he was in possession of five and that they were $10 each.
The informant then traveled to a city parking lot where Davis was identified by the informant, according to testimony.
Davis spoke briefly with the informant before handing her a paper towel with four pills wrapped inside.
Davis then hugged the NEU officer, who asked if she could contact him directly going forward, if the informant was not available. Davis agreed to this request.
The pills were subsequently identified as hydrocodone based on their markings the pill finder website.
The officer added that the informant only knew of Davis under the alias "M," and had recently ran into him on the street, where he informed her that he had both pills and crack cocaine.
Defense attorney Donald Martino argued that all charges should be dismissed, as all evidence presented was hearsay.
In particular, Martino argued that the unwillingness to name the informant meant that the prosecution could not rely on hearsay evidence that is generally allowed during preliminary hearings.
He argued it was the informant, not the NEU officer, who was familiar with Davis and should be the one to identify him.
"Pretending that I ignore the fact that the informant identified him, she still witnessed him exchanging the alleged narcotics," Biichle told Martino.
Further, Martino argued that despite being present, the NEU officer could not authenticate the texts sent from Davis' side, in an attempt to have the illegal use of a cell phone count thrown out.
Using a website to identify a suspected narcotic is "classic hearsay," Martino argued.
Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade countered that due to the informant requesting information on pills, receiving confirmation through text message and ultimately being handed pills by Davis, it can be inferred that he was in fact the one on the other end of the phone.
Wade further explained that, though Percocet is a brand name for a specific pain killer, "percs" is used as a slang term on the streets.
In the end, Biichle ruled that the prosecution had met its burden of proof to bring Davis to trial.
No court date has been set at this time.
Davis is currently incarcerated on a slew of charges related to the Jan. 11 murders of Ronald Dailey Jr. and Alisha Seese.