Police allege that Chelsea Sam, 22, sold a dose of black tar heroin to a confidential informant three days before Christmas. At her arraignment on a felony charge of second degree misconduct involving a controlled substance Thursday, Chief Dan Pasquariello was asked to testify about the substance police recovered.
“It had the odor and appearance of black tar heroin. I’ve seen black tar heroin before. They sell, looks like it was supposed to a tenth of a gram, but it seemed like a very small amount. We sent it to the crime lab so they can test it,” he said.
Sam was emotional, and in lieu of her ability to respond, Judge Daniel Schally ordered her held on no bail until an appointed public defender can argue otherwise.
Police say she only sold that one tiny dose to the confidential informant. Still, that’s good enough to charge a defendant with a class A felony drug offense. Even with no prior felony convictions, Sam could still face a presumptive range of between 5 and 8 years behind bars if convicted.
How many confidential informants are buying heroin for the police, or how many other felony charges DPD is currently sitting on, Pasquariello won’t say.
