05 June 2023- Lots of police activity near the I-81 fire in Franklin County on Friday afternoon, with another out of state man charged in connection with activities brought to light near, but not involving, the fire. Jonathan David Bailey of Baltimore is behind bars on $150,000 bail in Franklin County after being charged with felony possession with intent to distribute, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, felony possession of a controlled substance, and summary unregistered vehicle offenses.
Pennsylvania State Police Troopers were called to I-81SB near mile marker 7.5 to assist with an active fire. While enroute, dispatch allegedly told officers that they had received a call about an suspicious individual walking near the fire carrying what appeared to be a white container of lighter fluid. Police eventually found the man, now known to be Jonathan Bailey, carrying a container of motor oil.
Bailey was ID’ed by Troopers by his drivers license and was subsequently asked why he was walking down the road. He then allegedly said that his car broke down because it ran out of oil. When asked where he was coming from, Bailey allegedly said that he was travelling from Baltimore to Hagerstown to visit his girlfriend. When asked why he was in Pennsylvania and not Maryland, Bailey allegedly could not answer why. When asked what the name of his girlfriend was, Bailey allegedly couldn’t answer that either.
Troopers asked Bailey if he had any involvement in the fire that was blazing nearby, he allegedly said he didn’t have any involvement. Police also asked whether he smoked cigarettes, Bailey allegedly said “I don’t smoke cigarettes, I only smoke weed”.
Troopers travelled with Bailey back to his vehicle, a 2012 Acura with Maryland temp plates. Police allegedly smelled unsmoked marijuana coming from the vehicle and saw a pack of Newports on the floor, as well as one lighter in the driver’s side door. While checking the tags, police found that they were expired.
A search was then conducted on Bailey’s vehicle and his person. Through the search of Bailey for any weapons, police allegedly found six clear plastic bags containing marijuana in his pockets. When a search warrant was obtained for the whole car, police allegedly found a brown bag containing marijuana, a digital scale, and one brown bottle of promethazine.
Jonathan Bailey is behind bars on $150,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for June 13th.
Sources: Docket Number: MJ-39306-CR-0000095-2023, Incident Number: PA 2023-739669
