Todd Pate, 27, of New Sewickley Township arrived early at the county courthouse last Thursday to face a preliminary hearing on a DUI and careless driving charge.
According to an April 23 article by Beaver County Times staff writer J.D. Prose, Pate set off the alarm while passing through the court metal detector. Chief Deputy Jay Alstadt approached Pate with his handheld scanning wand to perform a further check, as is routine in situations such as this.
Alstadt quickly zeroed in on the right hand pocket of Pate’s pants, and Pate was asked to empty his pockets, revealing a small purple straw covered in some form of residue. When Alstadt asked Pate what the straw was used for, Pate explained that the straw was used for snorting heroin. When the deputy asked him if he had any heroin on him, Pate said that he did, and pulled out three baggies of the drug.
Pate was charged with three counts of drug possession and one count of drug paraphernalia possession.
Beaver County Sherriff George Davis called the incident, “one of the dumbest crimes of the month,” but admitted that many courthouse visitors forget to remove contraband items before walking through the doors.