Woman dead, 2 arrested after drugs found in car during traffic stop in Centre County
A woman died and two people were arrested on felony drug charges after a traffic stop Friday on a major highway in Centre County.
Edward E. Stewart, 64, and Cameo E. Evans, 35, each of Clearfield County, were accused of transporting three pounds of methamphetamine. Evans was also accused of transporting fentanyl, an opioid painkiller many times more powerful than heroin.
An investigation is ongoing. No defense lawyer was either was listed.
Stewart was stopped just before 6 p.m. Friday for following a truck too closely on Interstate 80 in Marion Township, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. Troopers said Evans also had several active warrants in Clearfield County.
Stewart told a trooper a 56-year-old woman was sleeping in the back seat, but police said she had no pulse, was covered by a coat and her face was buried in the back seat. Troopers performed CPR for upward of 15 minutes and administered an opioid-overdose antidote that was ineffective before emergency medical services arrived, police wrote.
Once EMS restored her pulse, police said in a public information report released Monday that she was taken to an unidentified hospital where she died.
After a search warrant was approved by District Judge Allen Sinclair, troopers said they found the methamphetamine as well as 14 bags of fentanyl and a glass pipe. Evans admitted to possessing the fentanyl, police wrote.
Neither Stewart nor Evans, however, claimed ownership of the methamphetamine. Each said they do not use the drug, don’t know anything about it and had never seen the woman use meth or fentanyl.
Both are charged with a felony count of possession with intent to deliver and misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Stewart is also charged with a summary traffic violation. They were arraigned Saturday by Sinclair.
Stewart was denied bail and Evans’ was set at $100,000. They are incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility. Each has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 12.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 3:31 PM.