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WILKES-BARRE — Hugo Selenski’s ex-girlfriend Carey Bartoo was one of two women arrested by city police when they were spotted in a parked vehicle on Wilkes Lane with suspected heroin packets, syringes and bottles of clean urine Sunday morning.
Bartoo, 44, last known address as Luzerne Street, Hanover Township, and Tara Cooper, 41, of White Oak Drive, Hunlock Township, were in a parked vehicle with a passing patrol officer spotted them moving their hands at about 10 a.m.
The patrol officer noticed Bartoo and Cooper were holding syringes, according to charges filed.
Police allege they found heroin packets inside the vehicle including bottles of urine at which Cooper claimed she sells clean urine “to other people” to pass court-ordered drug testing.
Bartoo testified during Selenski’s capital murder trial in Luzerne County Court earlier this year.
Prosecutors claimed Bartoo picked up Selenski at the Hunlock Township home of Michael Jason Kerkowski on May 3, 2002, after Selenski and Paul Weakley strangled Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett.
Bartoo testified she couldn’t remember if she had picked up Selenski as she admitted she was using heroin at the time. She did admit Selenski gave her a large sum of cash.
Selenski was convicted in the killings of Kerkowski and Fassett and was sentenced on Friday to two consecutive life terms in prison.
Bartoo and Selenski have a daughter together.
Police allege Cooper was also found with a pill container with numerous pill tablets she said were prescribed to her, according to charges filed.
Bartoo and Cooper were arraigned Sunday by District Judge Michael Dotzel in Wilkes-Barre Township.
Police charged Bartoo with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence. Cooper was charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance, three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count each of tampering with evidence and misbranding a controlled substance.
Bartoo and Cooper remained jailed at the county correctional facility for lack of $10,000 bail each.
Court records say Bartoo is scheduled to appear before county Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr.on June 30 for a possible guilty plea to charges she was driving around in a stolen Honda Accord and buying drugs with money earned from selling stolen jewelry in 2014. Bartoo’s boyfriend, Timothy Fenster, 29, of Plains Township, is facing similar charges including federal charges he robbed seven banks in the area in 2014 and 2015.
