New Kensington woman sentenced to probation in drug scheme at Westmoreland jail

Renatta Signorini, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Nov. 4—A New Kensington woman was sentenced to three years of probation Thursday for a minor role in what authorities have described as a year-long scheme to get drugs into the Westmoreland County Prison.

Sandra Gonzalez-Morales, 24, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility.

"I'm just looking for the best outcome in this situation," she told Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio.

Westmoreland County detectives charged more than a dozen people last year in connection with the scheme that police said used fake legal mail containing synthetic marijuana and papers soaked in the drug passed to inmates during court hearings. Those arrests include suspects inside and outside of the Hempfield jail.

Investigators unraveled the scheme after finding a sheet of paper detailing the operation that was left in the Hempfield lockup's library, according to court documents. Then, they listened to inmate phone conversations in January 2019 to intercept packages containing synthetic marijuana, or K2, and staked out hearings at the county courthouse in July 2019. Police said inmates would contact their wives, girlfriends or others to arrange for the deliveries.

Gonzales-Morales was in a relationship with co-defendant Bari Coleman, 30, of East Vandergrift, when she got caught up in the scheme, according to her attorney Milton Raiford. She has no prior record.

"She loved him, so she did what he told her to do and that led her to this court today," Raiford said.

He requested a probation sentence so she can continue working and caring for her mother. Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Calisti Tyburski recommended a jail sentence of six to 23 months.

Coleman pleaded guilty in March and was sentenced to one year less a day to two years less a day in jail, according to online court records. He was paroled in April.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .