Charges Held for Court in Downtown Hotel Drug Case

Despite a request for continuance from one of the defendants, a preliminary hearing was held Thursday for two Phoenixville men who police say had 136 small bags of suspected cocaine, two large bags of suspected cocaine, suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia in a hotel in downtown Phoenixville.

Attorneys representing Bryant Royal Baylis, 20, and Brandon Lee Campbell, 19, entered not guilty pleas in front of District Judge Susann Welsh. Kate Kohler of the district attorney’s office added charges of criminal conspiracy to all charges on both defendants prior to the preliminary hearing. Both men are charged with possession with intent to deliver, a felony, along with four misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia charges in addition to the newly added conspiracy charges.

Baylis’ public defender, James Green, told Welsh that Baylis hoped to get a private attorney. Green said his client would like to have the same attorney through all proceedings, and so he was requesting a continuance.

Welsh denied the request and said that if Baylis hires a private attorney in the future that was his choice, but for the purposes of Thursday’s hearing, she wished to proceed with the hearing with Green representing Baylis.

Officer Thomas Hyland of the Phoenixville Police Department testified as an expert witness in front of Welsh, and he recounted the alleged events of Dec. 8.

“Officer [Brad] Dobry and I received an anonymous tip to possible drug activity,” at the Mainstay Inn, Hyland testified.

The tip came in at 9:30 p.m. and both officers headed to the location at 184 Bridge St. to investigate. Upon arrival at the inn, the desk clerk told police that he had received a complaint from a hotel guest earlier in the evening, around 6 p.m., that there was a smell of burnt marijuana in the hallway. Police went to the second floor, in the direction the clerk indicated the complaint originated.

The officers determined the odor was coming from Room 216 and they heard male voices inside, Hyland testified. He knocked on the door and Campbell pulled it open a foot or two, having trouble getting it open as there was a towel under the door, according to Hyland’s testimony.

“I immediately smelled even more strong odor of marijuana coming out of the door,” Hyland said. 

Campbell was cuffed so the smell of marijuana could be further investigated, Hyland testified, and he saw Baylis seated in the far corner at a desk with his back to the door. He turned as Hyland and other officers came in, according to the testimony, and quickly closed a desk drawer.

In plain view, 136 small green baggies filled with a white powder substance that field tested positive for the presence of cocaine were piled on the desk, Hyland told the judge. Both men were taken into custody and the officers obtained a search warrant that was executed at approximately 6 a.m. on Dec. 9, the next day.

The search turned up the 136 green baggies originally spotted by police along with two larger clear sandwich bags with white powder inside that field tested positive for cocaine, Hyland testified. There was a dollar bill folded in half with a green leafy substance inside, a large number of small baggies of various colors, a scale, multiple cell phones, multiple cigars and poured out tobacco from empty cigars, a jar of suspected marijuana and one large clear empty baggie containing residue of suspected cocaine, Hyland said.

According to Hyland’s testimony, he believed the men were taking the cocaine from the large clear bags and putting it into the smaller colored bags to sell on the street.

When weighed back at the police station the cocaine amounted to just under three ounces, though those scales are not official, accoriding to Hyland. Field tests came back positive for the presence of cocaine but when the marijuana was field tested, the results were “inconclusive,” Hyland testified.

“It just means there might’ve been a problem with the test,” Hyland said.

Samples from the large clear bag and small bag of suspected cocaine as well as samples of the suspected marijuana were sent to the state police laboratory for testing. Currently, the lab has at least a six-month backup, but Hyland said due to the large amount of suspected drugs, police would try to expedite the testing process.

Hyland was also asked about who had originally rented the room. He said neither Campbell nor Baylis had rented the room; it was a different man.

“I can’t recall his name off the top of my head,” Hyland said.

Following Hyland’s testimony, both Green and Campbell’s attorney, Thomas McCabe, made closing arguments. Green asked that the possession with intent to deliver charge as well as the possession with intent to deliver paraphernalia charge and the possession of marijuana charges be dismissed because Hyland had never been qualified as an expert witness before. McCabe made the same argument and added that the inconclusive test for the presence of marijuana was grounds for dismissal of some of the charges.

Kohler said that Hyland testified to his experience and was accepted as an expert witness by Welsh for the proceedings. Kohler said that the possession with intent to deliver charge should stand.

Welsh agreed, saying the Commonwealth showed sufficient evidence to hold all charges for county court.

The judge adjusted bail, making each 10 percent instead of straight cash bail. Baylis was being held on $50,000 cash bail and Campbell’s bail was set for $25,000, and both were reduced to 10 percent of those amounts. Kohler asked that bail remain the same because Baylis is currently in drug court and she said Campbell was already convicted of these charges in the past. The last statement, according to Welsh, was false and Campbell has no convictions on prior similar charges that she could see.

A formal arraignment date will be scheduled and the case will head to county court. There will be stipulations placed on the bail.

“I guess you all understand that these are serious charges,” Welsh said.