Police serve bench warrants on two men
WAYNESBURG – Police served bench warrants on two men last week and charged one of the suspects with additional drug counts after he was found to be in possession of cocaine. Waynesburg police and state police officers arrested Brian Keith Pettis, 36, of Morgantown, W.Va., and William Warren Areford, 42, of Waynesburg, after serving them with warrants at the Colonial Inn in Waynesburg at 7:25 p.m. July 24. The warrants issued for their arrests stemmed from unrelated incidents. Pettis’ warrant was issued from the Greene County domestic relations department, while Areford had two warrants for charges filed by state police in the office of Magisterial District Judge Glenn Bates.
After the suspects were taken into custody on the warrants, police began searching them and Pettis told them he was in possession of drugs, according to court records. Police then removed 12 small clear plastic bags filled with a suspected controlled substance; one of the bags was later tested and confirmed to be cocaine, according to reports.
In addition to being arrested on the domestic relations warrant, Pettis was charged with one felony count of manufacturing, delivery or possessing with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance; and one misdemeanor count each of possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia and intentionally possessing a controlled substance.
He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Lee Watson on the drug charges and was released from custody after posting $20,000 straight bond. His preliminary hearing will be held before Watson on Aug. 19.
Areford’s warrants stem from allegations by police that he sold cocaine to an undercover state police officer and a confidential informant on two separate occasions from a Franklin Township residence in March.
According to criminal complaints filed in Bates’ office, the undercover officer claims that Areford sold 0.24 grams of cocaine to a confidential informant working with the undercover officer for $70 on March 26 and then sold the officer one gram of cocaine for $170 on March 27.
In each incident, Areford was charged with one felony count each of delivery of a controlled substance and possession with intent to delver a controlled substance, and a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
Police filed the charges in Bates’ office in May.
After being served the warrant on July 24, Areford was formally arraigned on the charges before Bates. He remains in jail on $20,000 straight bail.
His preliminary hearing will be held before Bates on Monday.