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WILKES-BARRE — A city man faces felony drug-dealing charges after police used an informant to purchase heroin from him, court records show.
Jose De Los Santos-Hidalgo, 25, of Wilkes-Barre, is accused of selling heroin in 2015 and 2016.
According to a criminal complaint:
Officers met with an informant on Aug. 24, 2015, who wanted to report a person dealing a large amount of heroin in the area. That individual also arranged to go to Santos-Hidalgo’s residence to purchase heroin. Santos-Hidalgo subsequently sent a text message to the informant’s phone for the sale of 4 grams of heroin for $360.
A controlled purchase took place Aug. 26.
The Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office used that same informant to obtain audio and video recordings to further the investigation Sept. 25. On that date, the informant purchased five bricks of heroin from Santos-Hidalgo for $700, even though the alleged dealer initially wanted $900.
Shortly after that buy, the informant determined he actually owed Santos-Hidalgo $100, and the pair met at Burger King on Carey Avenue to complete the transaction.
Another controlled purchase was made for one brick of heroin for $170 on Nov. 10, 2015.
More buys that police monitored occurred in January 2016.
Court dockets indicate two active cases against Santos-Hidalgo. In each, he’s charged with delivery and possession of a controlled substance, plus criminal use of a communication facility.
He was arraigned by District Judge Thomas Malloy on Tuesday. He is scheduled for preliminary hearings before Malloy at 10 a.m. July 6, and District Judge Rick Cronauer at 10 a.m. July 11.
Santos-Hidalgo is jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $100,000 bail in each case.
The arrest came after a joint investigation that involved Pennsylvania State Police, the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.