NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man was sent to prison on gun and drug charges that were lodged against him after a traffic stop in Abington Township.
Jonathan Jose Santiago, 28, of the 3500 block of Englewood Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 18- to 36-months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of carrying a firearm without a license and possession with intent to deliver marijuana in connection with a March 2024 incident in Abington.
Judge Thomas M. DelRicci, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Santiago to complete two years of probation consecutive to parole, meaning Santiago will be under court supervision for five years.
The investigation began about 5 p.m. March 9, when Abington police observed a Jeep Grand Cherokee, with after-market window tint obstructing views inside the vehicle, a tinted license plate cover and no tail lights, traveling westbound on Moreland Road near Davisville Road and conducted a traffic stop, according to court papers.
Police approached the driver, Santiago, and noticed a strong odor of marijuana emanating from inside the vehicle and observed rolling papers “commonly used for the rolling of marijuana joints” in the front console.
“During my encounter with Santiago, he appeared nervous and avoided eye contact with me,” Abington Police Officer Michael F. Sweeney alleged in the arrest affidavit, adding Santiago admitted he smoked marijuana and presented police with a medical marijuana card that expired in 2022.
Police also observed “a clear knotted plastic bag containing marijuana near the center console” and noted the bag was not in original packaging from a medical marijuana dispensary.
When Santiago did not consent to a search of the vehicle, police deployed a K9 that alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
Police subsequently got a warrant to search the vehicle. The search of the vehicle uncovered nine individually packaged bags containing suspected marijuana, three suspected ecstasy pills, two digital scales, vacuum sealing devices and drug packaging materials, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Based on my training and experience, the manner in which the cannabis and quantity thereof was consistent with street level narcotics sales. Additionally, the vast amount of various packaging and drug paraphernalia was also consistent with street level narcotics sales,” Sweeney alleged.
Police also discovered a black Sig Sauer P320 9mm handgun with an extended magazine under the rear passenger seat. Police conducted a record’s check that revealed the handgun had previously been reported stolen in Warminster Township, Bucks County, according to the criminal complaint.
Santiago did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, police said.
Other charges of possession of controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia, receiving stolen property, obstruction of registration plate and windshield obstruction were dismissed against Santiago as part of the plea agreement.
