Drug bust nets 3 arrests, meth, pot, guns

Lansford Police took three people into custody after a drug bust on East Abbott Street in the borough.

An ongoing investigation resulted in police serving a warrant Thursday morning at a home on the 500 block of East Abbott.

Police said they recovered more than 8 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 3.5 grams of marijuana, a shotgun and a handgun. Cash, drug paraphernalia and pills were also recovered.

Three people are facing drug charges as a result of the investigation — 49-year-old James A. McClain and 32-year-old Jodi Lynn Green, both of Lansford; and 32-year-old Ashley Terefinko of Allentown.

McClain and Green are both charged with possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, while Terefinko faces a charge possession of controlled substances without a prescription.

According to court documents, police served the warrant around 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Jodi Green answered the door and was taken into custody. McClain came out of the home with his hands up.

Terefinko was found near the attic of the home. She allegedly told police that McClain had been leaving the house to sell meth, and that Green used drugs with her child in the vehicle.

Green said she was aware that McClain was a dealer and that there were guns kept in her home despite the fact that she is a felon who is not permitted to possess firearms.

Lansford Police Chief Jack Soberick said the department’s investigation was the result of a tip from neighbors who observed suspicious activity at the home. He said the neighbors provided accurate and timely information.

“They fed us information in a timely manner, they weren’t afraid to get involved,” Soberick said.

Police say they believe drug dealing activity was happening at the home only for a few weeks. Soberick said that it is rare that a drug investigation will result in arrests in such a short period of time.

“Everything just happened to come together,” he said.

Green and McClain were sent to Carbon County Correctional Facility on $50,000 bail.

Preliminary hearings for the suspsects have been tentatively scheduled for April 4 before Magisterial District Judge Casimir T. Kosciolek in Lansford.