A Schuylkill County man has been jailed after Tamaqua Police say they found six improvised explosive devices and a loaded shotgun in the garage where he lives, one day after arresting him there with a handgun.
Dustin Oncay, 42, of Tamaqua, faces 15 charges in two cases, including four felony counts of persons not to possess firearms and six counts of prohibited offensive weapons. Police say Oncay admitted he is a convicted felon who cannot have guns. He’s currently being held at Schuykill County Prison on $100,000 in two separate cases.
The investigation began Wednesday, when another Tamaqua officer told Patrolman Timothy Walsh that several people said Oncay had a .357 pistol and had recently brandished it toward them, police say. Those people did not want to pursue charges out of fear of retaliation. Oncay already had an active warrant for his arrest and was living with his girlfriend in a garage behind a property in the 20 block of Clay Street.
Shortly after 9 p.m. that night, Walsh was on patrol on Washington Street when he saw headlights in front of the garage. The vehicle turned around and tried to head west on Franklin Street, and Walsh stopped to speak with the people inside. While talking with them, he saw Oncay leave his father’s house on Franklin Street, look toward him, and quickly go into the garage.
Oncay pushed the garage door shut behind him, but it did not close all the way. Walsh opened the door with his sidearm drawn, told Oncay he was under arrest on his warrant, and immediately saw a silver handgun directly in front of him, police say. Oncay had just picked up a pack of cigarettes from beside it. He followed orders to keep his hands up and walk slowly toward Walsh and was taken into custody without incident.
His girlfriend, Deanna Kite, who police say has a warrant of her own, went to alert his father and then fled the area, leaving her phone, purse, and clothing on the couch near where the gun was found. Kite’s whereabouts were unknown at the time.
Police say they seized a stainless steel .357 Magnum handgun, 10 suspected buprenorphine pills, two suspected pressed fentanyl pills shaped like a head, and about 100 wax paper baggies with residue inside, a type commonly used to store fentanyl or heroin. The pills tested positive for fentanyl in a field test.
A detective took Oncay to Schuylkill County Prison on a domestic relations warrant.
While collecting evidence, police say they spotted what appeared to be eight new one-ounce shotgun slug shells on a shelf, and Walsh suspected a shotgun was hidden somewhere in the garage. Oncay was advised of his rights and spoke briefly with police. He refused to consent to a search of the garage while admitting he is a convicted felon and knows he can’t possess any “guns,” police say, and then stopped answering questions.
On Thursday, after consulting with the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s Office, Walsh obtained a search warrant for the garage. The garage’s owner, who has a lease agreement with Oncay and his girlfriend, met officers shortly before 1 p.m. and gave them a set of keys. Officers knocked and announced themselves before entering. No one was inside.
Officers seized dozens of glassine baggies, hundreds of wax paper baggies, razor blades, and two glass smoking devices commonly used for marijuana and methamphetamine. Many of the packaging materials had powder residue and appeared used, while others were new.
Police say officers then found a fully loaded black Charles Daly 12-gauge shotgun wrapped in a blanket on a pile of clothing next to the couch where Oncay and his girlfriend sleep. They also seized hundreds of rounds of ammunition, including 12-gauge slugs, target loads, and birdshot; a fully loaded AK-47 magazine; and handgun rounds in .380 auto, .357, and .38 special, some of them armor-piercing or hollow points. The .357 and .38 special rounds can be fired from a handgun like the one seized from Oncay the night before.
In a tan satchel, officers found six improvised explosive devices that resemble flashbang grenades, police say. The black devices have a pull pin and a spoon that activates a fuse inside. One spoon is marked “FUSE 4.5 SEC+ 15GR,” while others are marked 20GR and 25GR. Because of the unknown nature of the devices and the potentially dangerous materials inside them, members of the State Police bomb squad responded to seize, identify, and destroy them.
Officers also seized a black women’s wallet holding the girlfriend’s state ID and Social Security card, along with Oncay’s state prison ID card and mail addressed to him.
Oncay admitted to police that he lives in the garage with his girlfriend. The garage’s owner and Oncay’s father, who lives next door, both said that only the couple lives there and pays rent. The owner said he does not own anything inside the garage, and Oncay’s father said he has nothing to do with anything there.
In the case stemming from Wednesday’s arrest, Oncay is charged with one count of persons not to possess firearms, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and adulterated or misbranded controlled substance. In the case stemming from Thursday’s search, he faces three counts of persons not to possess firearms, six counts of prohibited offensive weapons, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli arraigned Oncay on Friday and set bail in both cases. He is scheduled for preliminary hearings in both cases on Oct. 28 before Magisterial District Judge Casimir Kosciolek in Tamaqua.
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