JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) — A former president of the Brookville Little League who was charged with drug possession earlier this year has entered a diversionary program.
According to court documents, 38-year-old Craig A. Griffin, of Brookville, was allowed to enter into the ARD (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition) program by President Judge John Foradora November 14 after negotiations between his attorney, Blair Hindman, and Jefferson County District Attorney Jeff Burkett.
The agreement stipulates that Griffin will be in the ARD program for one year and must comply with the rules and regulations of the Jefferson County Adult Probation Department that apply to persons on ARD.
Griffin also must pay more than $1,360.00 in court costs and fines.
Griffin faced charges of the possession of a controlled substance, marijuana possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
ARD is program typically reserved for non-violent offenders with no or little criminal record. If Griffin successfully completes the program, he may petition the court to have the charges dismissed and the case expunged.
Griffin was also a corrections officer at State Prison in Forest County, but according to Lisa Reeher, assistant to Superintendent Michael Overmyer, Griffin is no longer employed there.
Details of the case:
According to a previous article on explorejeffersonpa.com, on March 20, Brookville Borough Police arrested Griffin for drug possession.
According to a criminal complaint, a Brookville Borough Police Officer was conducting surveillance for drug sales around 8:50 p.m. on March 20 in a parking lot near a bar on Pickering Street.
The officer saw “Griffin exit the bar and walk toward a vehicle at the back of the parking lot. Griffin opened the driver’s side door and pulled out a small container. He then walked to the rear of the vehicle, looked around, then lit a small pipe,” the complaint states.
The officer then approached Griffin and noticed a strong marijuana smell. The officer displayed his badge and asked him to step to the back of the vehicle. When the officer asked Griffin if he would like to explain the use of marijuana, he replied that he was sorry.
Griffin agreed to retrieve the marijuana and handed the officer a small, clear container with a red lid that contained a green, leafy substance and a small, black and silver metallic pipe, the complaint continues.
A pat-down search of Griffin for weapons was conducted and “loose medication was discovered in his small, upper pocket above the right pocket. The first pill was a muscle relaxer and the second was an alprazolam, a schedule IV controlled substance,” according to the complaint.
Griffin also told the officer that there was probably medication in the door of the truck, and he consented to a search of the truck. An unlabeled orange pill bottle in the center consul that contained a white, powdery substance in it was found, the complaint continues.
Griffin said it was probably pill powder due to him cutting the pills in half. Griffin refused to say where the marijuana was coming from and where he bought it, the complaint states.
While speaking with Griffin, he continually said he was the President of the Little League and was there for a Little League event, and we should let him go because of this, the complaint indicates.
In addition, “Griffin attempted to use his job (as a guard at the State Prison in Forest County) as a reason to be released, stating multiple times he was a state corrections officer and we (authorities) should ignore this and let his wife come and get him,” according to the complaint.
When agents from the state Office of the Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics Investigations assisted with an interview of Griffin, “he again said he was a state corrections officer, and he should be let go,” the complaint states.
