Heroin bust is one of Pike's biggest-ever

By Anya Tikka
WESTFALL — Delaware Valley School District’s Chief of Police Mark Moglia gave the tip that led to what the District Attorney called "one of the largest seizures of heroin in Pike County.”

The tip led to the June 25 arrest of two people for selling heroin at Westfall’s Hampton Inn.

“I can’t give you any more information on that," Moglia said after Delaware Valley school board’s June meeting. "I had information that I passed along to the District Attorney’s detectives.”

Moglia worked with the Eastern Pike Regional Police Department on the case. He said the information he obtained did not come from the school. Moglia was previously chief of the Westfall Police Department.

After the tip, the detectives got to work. Rashawn Cooks, 29, from Paterson, N.J., and Melissa Schultz, 32, from Milford, Pa., were arrested, according to the Pike County District Attorney’s Office’s press release.

Second drug arrest in a week
Detectives began an investigation into heroin sales in the area about one month ago.

“The police officers and detectives involved did an outstanding job of investigating the information they obtained and developing the case to allow for the seizure of a large amount of drugs and money," Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin said in a statement.

Tonkin said it was the second drug trafficking set of arrests in a week for selling drugs from a hotel. The first arrest took place at the Apple Inn motel on Route 209 and 6.

Investigators learned that Cooks used several Westfall Township area hotel rooms to sell heroin. The arrest took place after investigating officers posed as clients, buying heroin from the two dealers, according to the police.

While the investigation was ongoing, detectives learned that Cooks and Schultz were in the process of moving from one hotel to another. They obtained a search warrant issued by Magisterial District Judge Alan Cooper, searched a room at Westfall’s Hampton Inn, and found 1,243 bags of heroin, approximately 3 grams of crack cocaine, some powder cocaine, and more than $4,700 in cash. The potential street value of the drugs is more than $20,000, the police report says.

Cooks and Schultz are both charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance for both heroin and crack cocaine found in the hotel room; and criminal conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, both felonies.

Both were arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Cooper and placed in the Pike County Correctional Facility: Cooks in lieu of $300,000 bail, and Schultz in lieu of $100,000 bail. They were scheduled for preliminary hearings before Magisterial District Judge Fischer.

Investigators from the District Attorney’s Office will be contacting local hotels to request they call the District Attorney’s Office if they observe suspicious behavior that could be related to drug activity.

Anyone with information on drug activity is asked to call the Pike County District Attorney’s Office at 570-296-3482 and ask for the Detective Bureau. All calls will remain confidential.