35 Drug Dealers Busted in Blair County Heroin Siege

Thirty-five suspected heroin and opioid dealers are behind bars following a year-long sting operation that ripped through Altoona and Blair County, exposing a sprawling underground drug network feeding Pennsylvania’s deadly addiction epidemic. State and local authorities announced charges this week against a cross-section of street-level peddlers and repeat offenders caught moving heroin, cocaine, illegal prescription opioids — and even Suboxone, a drug meant to fight addiction, now being sold as contraband.

The arrests, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office, mark the fifth major drug sweep in Blair County since January 2017. Agents from the Office of Attorney General worked alongside Altoona Police, the Blair County Drug Task Force, the Sheriff’s Department, State Police, Probation and Parole, and the District Attorney’s Office in a coordinated takedown. The crackdown culminated in a wave of charges for possession with intent to deliver, conspiracy, and related narcotics offenses.

Among those charged: Ashley Baker-Jones, 25, of Evergreen Court, Altoona; Michelle Barr, 37, of 207 Pennway Avenue; Dione Boynton, 36, of 14th Street; Alisha Burns, 23, of 4th Avenue; Keith Christian, 43, of E. Allegheny Avenue, Philadelphia; Danielle Copenhaver, 30, of Pine Avenue; Barry Criste, 36, of W. Chestnut Avenue; Jacob Ewing, 34, of Logan Village Drive, Tyrone; Tobias Finochio, 39, of Beaumont Drive; Mary Helsel, 32, of Allen Lane, Duncansville; and John Klotz, 26, of 14th Avenue. Each faces years behind bars if convicted.

Additional defendants include Kenneth Lechner, 47, of E. 2nd Street; Rebecca Levinson, 33, of Cranberry Street, Tyrone; Tre Madden, 22, of 2nd Avenue; Jessie Mayes, 33, of 2nd Street, Saint Michael; Christopher Mazur, 23, of 6th Avenue; Nicole McGarvey, 38, of Meade Street, Tyrone; Lola Meyers, 33, of Evergreen Court; Jeremy Orebaugh, 33, of 22nd Avenue; Hillary Ott, 24, of 14th Avenue; Robert Payne, 28, of 4th Avenue; and Andre, whose full name was not provided in the release. Several were already under supervision, highlighting the revolving door of the opioid trade.

“We’re here and we’re not going away,” Attorney General Shapiro declared, emphasizing that this operation was driven by community outcry. Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio echoed the stance, vowing continued collaboration to dismantle drug networks. Both officials credited Operation Our Town, a grassroots anti-drug nonprofit, for critical support and intelligence. The sweep reflects Shapiro’s broader war on opioids: his office has arrested an average of three dealers daily since January, doubled diversion cases against medical professionals, and launched a national probe into opioid distributors.

The defendants will be arraigned before Blair County Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller and prosecuted by the Blair County District Attorney’s Office. With heroin cutting through families and overdoses climbing statewide, this sweep is not an endpoint — it’s a message. The war on drugs in Pennsylvania’s small towns is escalating, and law enforcement is digging in for the long haul.