A State College Area High School senior and star football player for the Little Lions is facing multiple charges after allegedly being found with drugs and stolen mail and making threats against a witness.
Noah R. Woods, 18, of Lemont, was charged Tuesday with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and retaliation against a witness, along with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft by unlawful taking.
According to a criminal complaint, Ferguson Township police responded at 9:24 a.m. Monday to a report of a black male entering mail boxes near the intersection of High Point Cove and Fairchild Lane. A witness said he approached the man and asked what he was doing, at which point the man fled while carrying a black backpack and black duffel bag.
An officer said he had earlier handled a disabled vehicle call on Blue Course Drive and had cited Woods, who seemed to match the description the witness provided to police.
At about 12:50 p.m., patrols were dispatched to West Whitehall Road for a report of a male possibly entering a residence without permission. An officer said he observed Woods on the back porch of the residence reaching into a black duffel bag, and when Woods saw the police car he pulled his hand out of the bag and stood up.
Woods reportedly told police he was getting some things for his friend who lived at the residence. Another officer spoke with the caller, who said his brother was taken to the the hospital because of earlier drug use. The caller’s mother, the owner of the property, told him she believed Woods was at the house to remove illegal drugs and had not given him permission to be in the house. The caller said he went to the house, saw a vehicle in the driveway and observed Woods coming out of the house carrying a black duffel bag.
An officer asked Woods about the issue he had at the mailbox earlier and Woods initially denied knowing anything about it, according to the complaint. Woods then allegedly acknowledged he had the mail at his home in Lemont but couldn’t provide an answer about how it got there.
Woods was taken into custody for theft and police searched the duffel bag. Inside, they allegedly found a bag with suspected marijuana, a grinder containing suspected marijuana residue, a glass smoking device, two digital scales and mail for six people with addresses in the area of High Point Cove, Fairchild Lane and McBath Street. Police said in a side compartment they found 88 Xanax pills.
At the police station, Woods reportedly told police he wanted to cooperate and it was decided he would be charged at a later date. He was released at about 3 p.m.
At about 4:30 p.m. the Whitehall Road caller reported that Woods called him and threatened him. Woods allegedly told him it was his fault he was facing charges and that ‘snitches get stitches.’ Woods also said ‘I better not see your ass around town,’ according to the complaint. The man said that at one point he hung up on Woods and Woods called him back immediately.
When Woods returned to the police station to retrieve his own cell phone, he was placed under arrest for retaliation against a witness.
The man said later that he got the cell phone of his brother, who was still in the hospital, and looked at the text messages. Among them were messages from the number Woods had called him from earlier saying his brother got him arrested and he was going to kill him, according to the complaint. Police told the man to return the cell phone to the hospital room and obtained a search warrant to seize and search the phone.
Woods was arraigned on Tuesday morning before District Judge Steven Lachman. Bail was set at 10 percent of $30,000.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 24.
Woods was a two-year starter at wide receiver for the State High football team. He was named MVP of the PSFCA East-West All-Star Game earlier this month and also was a member of the State High boys track and field state championship team in 2016.
He committed in January to attend and play football at Slippery Rock University. A tweet from Slippery Rock’s verified athletics department account welcoming Woods on signing day has been deleted.
