Carbon County court – I-80 traffic stops

Interstate 80 in Carbon and Monroe counties is apparently a super route for drug traffickers based on the number of vehicle stops that result in arrests for drug possession and driving under the influence of controlled substances.

State police at Fern Ridge patrol I-80 in Carbon from Kidder Township to East Side Borough are busy making stops and arrests.

On Monday in Carbon County court, five defendants who were charged after being stopped for various traffic violations entered guilty pleas to drug counts or DUI charges before Judge Joseph J. Matika.

Those pleading included:

Jason David Dillon, 34, of Cleveland, Ohio, was stopped on April 11, 2018, in East Side Borough. Marijuana was found in his vehicle. He pleaded to one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

Matika placed him on probation for two years and ordered he render 100 hours of community service and supply a DNA sample.

Shuaib Abdul Ali, 35, of Luzerne County, was stopped on Nov. 4, 2015, in East Side Borough. Marijuana was found in his vehicle. He pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia with a felony count of possession with intent to deliver dropped in a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office.

Matika placed him on probation for a year and ordered he render 50 hours of community service.

Terrence Joseph Ellison-Love, 24, of Williamsport, was stopped on Aug. 4, 2016, in East Side Borough. Marijuana was found. He pleaded to one count of possession with intent to deliver.

Matika sentenced him to time-served (34 days) to 23 months in prison and ordered he render 75 hours of community service and supply a DNA sample.

Hamou Sourmare, 23, of Brooklyn, New York, was stopped on Dec. 19, 2016, in Kidder Township. He pleaded to one count of DUI of a controlled substance. He refused a test.

Matika sentenced him to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, pay a fine of $1,000, one year license suspension and render 25 hours of community service.

He was given credit for two days already served and started serving the third day immediately.

Jason Daniel Rose, 32, of Beaverdale, Cambria County, was stopped on July 1, 2015, in Kidder Township. He pleaded to one count of DUI of a controlled substance.

Sentencing was deferred so Rose can obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation.

Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole or probation.