A Butler County Common Pleas Court jury convicted a man Wednesday, June 24, of drug charges even though state police mistakenly destroyed the physical evidence from the June 17, 2022, traffic stop on Route 28 in Buffalo Township that led to the charges.

Dillon James Trice, 34, of New Bethlehem, was found guilty of a felony count of possession with intent to deliver and one of two misdemeanor charges of possession. He was found not guilty of the second possession charge.

Police said he was in possession of 120 stamp bags of heroin/fentanyl with a street value of $1,200 and a small amount of crystal methamphetamine.

Trice, who did not testify, wept after the verdict reached by the jury of nine women and three men was read by the jury foreman.

He was placed in custody by deputy sheriffs and taken to the county prison after the $10,000 bail he posted in April 2023 was revoked and replaced with $100,000 bail by Judge Joseph Kubit, who presided over the two-day trial.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Zanella asked for the increased bail, saying sentencing guidelines call for a 42- to 54-month prison sentence for the possession with intent to deliver charge.

Kubit said the guideline sentence is significant and creates the possibility of Trice trying to flee to avoid being sentenced.

Kubit scheduled sentencing for July 16.

Codefendant Todd William Cessna, 35, of Shelocta, Indiana County, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver in September 2024 and is serving a four- to 10-year sentence in state prison. Trice and Cessna were passengers in the car. The woman driver was not charged. A fourth party owned the car.

The prosecution concluded its case against Trice Tuesday, and the defense rested its case late Wednesday morning after briefly questioning the arresting officer, retired Sgt. Jeremy Bowser.

In his closing argument Wednesday, Trice’s attorney, Zachary Coblentz told the jury the case against Trice was based on conclusions with no proof and the prosecution did not prove the drugs were in Trice’s possession.

Bowser testified Monday drugs were found in a backpack that was located on the back seat next to where Trice had been seated.

Coblentz said photos of the destroyed evidence — such as the receipt from a store where Trice bought snacks before the traffic stop and a receipt from a $300 cash withdrawal made before the stop — do not prove he possessed the drugs. A photo of a bag from the store was shown to the jury, but the bag was not kept as evidence. The receipt and the bag do not tie Trice to the backpack and the evidence was not preserved, Coblentz said.

He said an iPad found in the backpack was seized as evidence, but it was not examined, plugged in or sent to the crime lab to determine who owned it.

“The investigation stopped when conclusions were reached,” Coblentz said.

The jury can’t inspect the evidence to verify the conclusions presented by the prosecution because it was destroyed, he said.

“Because of that mistake, the evidence that could have answered questions doesn’t exist anymore,” Coblentz said.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Zanella said in his closing argument photos of the backpack with the drugs inside, the store receipt in the backpack, the receipt and the debit card used in the purchase, a cigarette pack containing the crystal methamphetamine and the receipt from a $300 cash withdrawal Trice made prove Trice is guilty.

He said the cash was withdrawn hours before the traffic stop, but no cash was found in the vehicle.

Trice confessed when he called Bowser and said he sold drugs because he needed the money and admitted to owning the iPad when he asked for it to be returned to him, Zanella said. Bowser testified Tuesday he did not record the phone call in which Trice allegedly admitted his guilt.

He also said Trice lied to police during the traffic stop about what he was doing that day.

The evidence was destroyed in May 2024, but no one asked to see it until earlier this year and none of it would have cleared Trice of guilt, Zanella said. He said destroying the evidence was an honest mistake attributable to possible incompetence, but it was not nefarious.