Guilty plea made in heroin case

STEUBENVILLE - Three people who were caught bringing heroin back from Pittsburgh pleaded guilty to drug charges Friday before Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. and were allowed to enter drug treatment in lieu of conviction.

Brandon W. Thompson, 26, of 1406 Sinclair Ave. and Heather A. Isinghood, 23, of RD 1, Wellsburg, pleaded guilty to possession of heroin. Jonathan J. Kolosky, 25, of 3701 Bright Way, Weirton, pleaded guilty to permitting drug abuse.

The Jefferson County Drug Task Force used a confidential informant to give Thompson and Isinghood money to buy heroin in Pittsburgh.

Kolosky was the driver of the vehicle, according to court documents.

The drug task force was watching the vehicle as it returned from Pittsburgh and used the Ohio State Highway Patrol to stop the vehicle in Steubenville on Jan. 13.

The drug task force reported Thompson, Isinghood and Kolosky had used some of the heroin while coming back from Pittsburgh. The drug task force reported seeing Thompson and Isinghood shooting up in the vehicle.

Thompson, Isinghood and Kolosky have entered drug treatment. If they remain drug free for the next two years, the charges will be dismissed.

If Thompson and Isinghood fail drug treatment, they face 18 months in prison. Kolosky faces 12 months in prison.

Also, George G. Morates Jr., 41, of 240 Rockdale Road pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of criminal tools and two counts of tampering with a coin vending machine.

Bruzzese also allowed Morates to enter drug treatment in lieu of conviction.

Morates used a tire iron to break into vending machines on Jan. 9 at the Stacey's IGA in Toronto and the BP gas station on University Boulevard in Steubenville.

Morates faces up to four years in prison if he doesn't successfully complete drug treatment.

Bruzzese sentenced Devon J. Bellum, 22, of 500 Wallace St., Brilliant, to 10 months in prison. Bellum admitted he violated his probation by failing to report to his probation office and using marijuana.

Bellum pleaded guilty in August to trafficking in cocaine and was sentenced to six months in the Eastern Ohio Correction Center, followed by three years of probation.

(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)