PITTSBURGH — A bundle of heroin inside a baby food container was among the items seized Thursday during a drug bust in Observatory Hill, Pittsburgh police said.
Authorities zeroed in on the residence in the 400 block of Dornestic Street after concerned residents in the area complained to police about open air drug transactions.%
%
While conducting surveillance of the home, officers observed the occupants bring their trash out as a garbage truck arrived, raising suspicions and prompting investigators to obtain a search warrant.
Authorities searched the trash April 7 and found five sandwich baggies used for the packaging and distribution of narcotics, six empty stamp bags and six empty brick wrappers.
A search warrant was then executed at the home later that day. Police said they first encountered Galen Harris, 33, who was sitting on the couch in the living room. A firearm was recovered from the couch cushion and arm, authorities said.
A 5-month-old girl was also in the living room, while Patti Hunt, 52, was found in an upstairs bedroom and Louis Hunt, 35, was discovered in the basement.
Authorities said they found numerous drugs, paraphernalia and guns in their search of the residence. Those items included a black Glock 23 .40 caliber handgun, a black Smith and Wesson .32 caliber revolver, a silver Taurus model PT 945 .45 caliber handgun, a black Intertec 9mm semi-automatic pistol, a bundle of heroin inside of a baby food container that also contained baby food, a plastic bag containing six Xanax pills, 11 bricks of heroin and several bundles of stamp bags of heroin.%
%
Harris, Patti Hunt and Louis Hunt were arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia, receiving stolen property for the firearms and child endangerment.
The child is in protective custody.
Channel 11’s Rick Earle learned that Patti Hunt has been on a mission to make the community safer after her son, 20-year-old Clark Bowra, was shot and killed while sitting in her car in the Hill District a decade ago.
No one has been charged in his death, and over the years, Patti Hunt worked to keep the case active. In January, she posted on Facebook, urging Pittsburgh’s mayor to start a task force on unsolved murders and asking people to sign a petition to demand action to reduce violence.
A man who identified himself as a family friend told Earle that Patti Hunt had nothing to do with the drugs or guns found in the home.
Patti Hunt was free on bond Monday, awaiting a preliminary hearing.