Harrison woman with previous drug convictions accused of selling crack cocaine after home raided
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Harrison police accused a woman who was convicted of selling drugs in the past of being a crack cocaine dealer after her home was raided Friday.
Kim Romanelli, 62, of the 1000 block of Idaho Avenue was charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver along with counts of drug possession.
Police wrote in a criminal complaint that Romanelli answered the door when township officers and agents from the state Attorney General’s Office went to her apartment Friday, Feb. 10, to execute a search warrant.
Romanelli told officers where to find the drugs after she was placed under arrest and agreed to speak with police, the complaint said.
While searching the living room, police found several medicine bottles filled with unknown pills and another one with Suboxone strips inside, according to the complaint.
One of the bottles had two plastic bags of crack cocaine stuffed inside, police said. They also confiscated digital scales, materials used to package drugs and drug paraphernalia, the complaint said.
Police said drug paraphernalia and a clear plastic vial of crack cocaine were found inside a bedroom.
The drugs were field-tested and came back positive for the presence of cocaine, according to investigators.
Romanelli was released from custody on a $10,000 unsecured bond. She is scheduled to appear before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on March 1 for a preliminary hearing.
3 previous busts, 2 jail terms
Court records show Romanelli pleaded guilty in 2015 to a misdemeanor drug possession charge filed by Pittsburgh police and was sentenced to a year of probation after spending 37 days in jail.
She also was convicted in 2009 of felony counts of criminal trespass and conspiracy along with a count of theft filed by Pittsburgh police. She was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in jail and four years of probation, court records show.
In 2001, Romanelli pleaded guilty to eight felony counts and four misdemeanor counts of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver; she was sentenced to two years in jail. The charges were filed by Pittsburgh police, according to the court docket.