Jun 13, 2020 2 min read

Canonsburg police and the Washington County SWAT team served a warrant in the borough Thursday evening that led to the arrest of an alleged heroin dealer.

John Quintin Lazear, 36, of 151 Oakspring Road, was home about 6:45 p.m. when the SWAT arrived.

“We had information that he had been dealing heavily in the west side of Canonsburg,” borough police Chief Alex Coghill said Friday.

According to an affidavit filed by Canonsburg Detective Michael Ledger, North Strabane police responded to a call for a woman under the influence of heroin earlier that day. Police recovered “a large amount of heroin” from inside her vehicle.

Both North Strabane and Canonsburg police interviewed the woman, who gave them information about Lazear, leading to the warrant. North Strabane police Chief Brian Hughes said Friday that his department is still investigating the woman’s involvement, and charges have not yet been filed against her.

Coghill said his department was given information that Lazear was illegally armed, which was why the SWAT team was involved. Police said they found in the residence a handgun and a shotgun, which Lazear isn’t allowed to possess as someone with felony convictions.

Police also collected more than 300 stamp bags of heroin from the residence, Coghill said. According to the criminal complaint, police also found suspected cocaine and numerous items of drug paraphernalia including scales, pipes, syringes and empty stamp bags.

Lazear was charged with two counts of illegally possessing firearms, possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arraigned Thursday night by District Judge Jesse Pettit and jailed on $150,000 bond.

Coghill said his department is investigating whether any overdoses in the area are linked to Lazear.

“He was a good one to get off the street,” Coghill said Friday. “He was supplying a lot of heroin in this area.”