Altoona duo charged for selling meth to undercover cop

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — An Altoona duo are behind bars after police said they sold drugs to an undercover officer which was set up by a criminal informant (CI).

Amanda Hill-Cox, 35, and Addam Emerick, 40, are both facing felony drug charges after they allegedly sold drugs to a CI in Altoona.

On March 9, a CI reached out to Altoona Police to inform officers they could purchase methamphetamine from Hill-Cox and Emerick. According to the criminal complaint, the CI was told by Hill-Cox that they could get a half ounce of meth for $500.

The CI and an officer arrived at the 7th Avenue Sunoco to meet with Hill-Cox and Emerick just before 1 p.m. the same day. The CI and Hill-Cox spoke briefly before they both returned to the vehicle the officer was in, according to the criminal complaint.

Hill-Cox directly spoke with the undercover officer, saying she could be trusted and that she need money to get the drugs, police noted in the complaint. The officer allegedly responded claiming they weren’t giving her money because they didn’t know her. Hill-Cox then allegedly placed a small clear orange ziplock baggie with “4:20” logos on the middle console, which police said was identified as methamphetamine.

Hill-Cox and the officer then made an agreement, according to the affidavit. The officer gave her $30 for the ziplock bag, then $250 which was half of the price of the half ounce of meth the CI reached out about, totaling $280. Hill-Cox allegedly agreed that the CI and the officer could follow her to get the drugs from her source.

Around 1:45 p.m., Emerick and Hill-Cox advised the CI and the officer to meet at Antique Depot in Duncansville. While waiting, the CI and officer were told by officers surveilling the area, the two stopped at Lowes, then at the Little Caesars then at Walmart. According to court documents, the CI attempted to contact Hill-Cox but was sent to voicemail. She eventually called the CI back, telling them to “calm down” and that “they were going to get it.”

The officer then contacted backup, who then followed Hill-Cox and Emerick as they traveled north on Interstate 99, police noted in the complaint. A Logan Township Police Officer was able to pull over the vehicle at the Sheetz parking lot along Pleasant Valley Boulevard.

Hill-Cox and Emerick were immediately arrested and taken in for questioning. Back at the station, Hill-Cox reportedly told police she never intended to sell the CI anymore methamphetamine and that she was going to “burn” them, according to the criminal complaint.

The duo are both in Blair County Prison after failing to post $50,000 respectively. They are both facing conspiracy manufacture delivery with the intent to manufacture or deliver charges, criminal use of communication facility, along with six drug-related misdemeanors.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 14.