2 arrested on drug charges following crash in Nesquehoning

Two people were arrested on drug-related charges when Nesquehoning police responded to a motor vehicle crash on East Catawissa Street on Monday morning.

Brandin Lee Brong, 25, of Bath, and Sean M. Williams, 29, of Whitehall, were both charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, criminal conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Additionally, Brong was charged with carrying firearms without a license.

In an affidavit of probable cause, officer Timothy Wuttke said he was dispatched at 4:16 a.m. to a business along East Catawissa Street for a crash and upon arrival observed a blue Dodge Avenger that had crashed into the embankment on the shoulder of the northbound lane.

He said a witness said the vehicle was traveling south when it left the right side of the roadway, struck a trailer parked in a lot on the side of the road, then crossed both lanes and came to rest against the embankment.

The witness said there were three men in the vehicle, but Wuttke found only two men at the scene. The witness also told police one of the men “appeared to be on something and attempted to get into his vehicle and demanded he get him out of there quick.”

The officer spoke to Brong and Williams, who he identified at the scene, and both complained of minor injuries but refused medical treatment.

Wuttke said Williams was the driver of the vehicle and Brong was a passenger. Williams told the officer he fell asleep and the car left the road, striking the trailer.

Asked about a third person who was in the vehicle, Brong and Williams told Wuttke the third man’s name is “Esi,” saying they just met him and did not know his last name.

During questioning, Williams and Brong both denied being under the influence of anything. Police said Brong admitted he had a gun in his backpack and that he was not licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

The officer took Brong into custody and, while searching him, found a bag of methamphetamine in his pocket and wallet.

When the officer checked the backpack, he found two firearms, an unloaded SIG Sauer P226 .40-caliber handgun and a loaded SIG Sauer P229 .357-magnum handgun, as well as another plastic baggie containing drugs, a digital scale, empty black plastic bags and numerous pink plastic bags commonly used for packaging methamphetamine.

Wuttke said a search of Williams resulted in the officer finding a pink plastic baggie with drugs in it that Williams admitted was methamphetamine, and a pen tube in his pocket that he told police he used to snort the drug.

The methamphetamine in Brong’s possession weighed 3.5 grams, and the substance on Williams was about 1.8 grams, police said.

A check on the guns showed they are registered to two separate people other than Brong.

Both Brong and Williams were arraigned before District Judge Casimir Kosciolek, who set bail at $5,000.

Brong and Williams are in Carbon County Correctional Facility awaiting preliminary hearings before Kosciolek on Aug. 29.