(Towanda, PA) – Owego man was found guilty by a Bradford County jury last week of possessing a large amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine with the intent to deliver. Tuan T. Vo, 36, of Owego, was found guilty of possessing over 2.5 grams of methamphetamine and over 30 grams of fentanyl with the intent to deliver. Vo was also found guilty of criminal conspiracy to deliver over 50 grams of methamphetamine and over 10 grams of fentanyl, stemming from a large quantity of both being found on a codefendant when Vo and the codefendant were apprehended by the Sayre police bringing drugs to the Best Western on Spring Street, while police were at the hotel serving a search warrant on the intended recipient of the drugs.
The verdict follows an investigation in January by Sayre police and the Bradford County Drug Task Force into alleged sales of controlled substances at the Best Western. On January 5, 2022, Sgt. Bruce Hoffman and Sayre police officers executed a search warrant on a single room at the hotel and learned a supplier was expected to be arriving momentarily with more drugs. Within a short time, Vo and a codefendant arrived and were detained by police.
After a brief detention, Vo was released and left the hotel without the vehicle that the pair had arrived in. The female codefendant was taken into custody for possession of a small amount of methamphetamine. However, she was later discovered to be concealing a large amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl in her pants, which she would later confirm that Vo had originally possessed, but gave to her to hide upon arriving at the hotel and seeing police.
Sayre police then searched the vehicle and found an Armani satchel with multiple forms of ID identifying it as Vo’s. Inside the satchel is where police discovered a significant amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine, which were the same items seized from the female codefendant. Police were then able to locate multiple public social media profiles with pictures of Vo wearing the same Armani satchel.
The jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning the verdict. The verdict came less than 10 minutes after the jury asked President Judge Maureen T. Beirne to clarify the definition of a criminal conspiracy. The jury also found Vo guilty of the lesser-included offense of Possession of a Controlled Substance, an ungraded misdemeanor. The jury acquitted Vo of a charge of Criminal Use of a Communication Facility, a felony of the third degree.
Following the verdict, Judge Beirne increased Vo’s bail to $500,000 upon request from the District Attorney’s Office.
Sentencing is scheduled foe January 12, 2023, Judge Beirne.
