There was enough drug paraphernalia seized to fill a U-Haul truck, police said.
By: Linda Seida
NEW HOPE A six-month undercover drug investigation led to the arrest of four people last week in connection with a police raid on two South Main Street shops where police confiscated enough drug paraphernalia to fill a U-Haul truck, police said.
The raid, sparked by residents’ complaints, resulted in the arrests of two shop owners and two employees.
Warren Greene, 51, owner of Spinsters Records at 110 S. Main St., and Travis Tyler Fluck, 21, owner of Wane Galere at 115 S. Main St., were arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute.
Two employees of Spinsters, Jessica Hammer, 44, of New Hope and Matthew Labar, 22, of Yardley, Pa., were charged with possession of marijuana. Ms. Hammer had a small amount in her possession, according to New Hope police.
All are free on $10,000 bail, according to New Hope Police Chief Rick Pasqualini.
Spinsters was open Tuesday, but an answering machine came on at Wane Galere.
All of the charges are misdemeanors, according to Bucks County Assistant District Attorney Daniel Keane. Conviction on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine, and a possession of marijuana conviction carries the same penalties, he said. The defendants may face multiple counts, and more arrests may be forthcoming, according to Mr. Keane, who talked with The Beacon late Monday.
"They could all potentially get jail time, definitely fines. It depends on many factors," a spokeswoman for the New Hope police said. Those factors include any previous arrests and criminal background checks.
Police, armed with search and arrest warrants, first arrested Mr. Green, the owner of Spinsters, at his residence. Ms. Hammer and Mr. Labar were arrested later at Spinsters.
Wane Galere closed moments before police arrived with the warrants. Mr. Fluck, aware there was a warrant for his arrest, turned himself into New Hope police later that day.
The two shop owners could not be reached for comment.
The investigation was sparked by complaints from New Hope merchants about the sale of drugs and drug paraphernalia in the area, Chief Pasqualini said. Spinsters, he added, had been raided once before, prior to his joining the New Hope Police Department. He came aboard as chief in February 2002.
"Much of the credit goes to District Attorney Diane Gibbons. She basically funded" the investigation and undercover buys that took place over a span of six months, Chief Pasqualini said.
"Obviously we see it as a priority. We’re trying to deal with it aggressively," Mr. Keane said of his office’s stance on cutting down on drug activity in the county. "We were very happy to have such great cooperation from New Hope’s police, led by Chief Pasqualini."
The investigation was led by Cpl. Matt Zimmerman of the New Hope Police Department. Assisting in the investigation and arrests were Pennsylvania State Police and police officers from Warminster, Buckingham, Doylestown, Tinicum and Plumstead townships.
Special county detectives also were "a great assistance," according to Mr. Keane. The investigation represented "truly a cooperation among a number of different departments, of course led by New Hope Police, and they did a great job with it," he said.
"As a result of this last raid, we will stay on top of these establishments to make sure they don’t break the law," Chief Pasqualini said. "The only reason to sell this paraphernalia is to use drugs."
The two stores were selling what the chief termed as drug paraphernalia pipes, bongs, etc..
The chief emphasized the borough has "zero tolerance towards drugs."

