Three Maryland residents charged in undercover Penn Township drug sting

Three Baltimore, Maryland residents are facing felony charges after an undercover methamphetamine sting by Penn Township Police, court documents reveal.

Terrell Smallwood, 36, Ashaunti Young, 23, and Isaiah King, 26, all of Baltimore, Maryland, were charged on May 20, 2024, by Penn Township Police with felony counts of intent to manufacture and conspiracy.

All three were unable to post $500,000 bail each, and remain confined at York County prison.

Preliminary hearings for King, Smallwood, and Young are scheduled for July 2, 2024.

According to affidavits of probable cause, officers conducted an undercover sting operation in May that led to the arrests.

Undercover police officers made arrangements with an individual for the purchase of $1,500 of methamphetamine, which was set to be purchased in a parking lot of a business in the 1600 block of Broadway in Penn Township, the affidavit states.

When police arrived at the site of the scheduled deal, two vehicles arrived in the parking lot, one operated by Smallwood, and the other occupied by Young and King, the affidavit states.

After unknowingly meeting with the undercover officers, Smallwood asked to move the transaction to a parking lot of a business on the 100 block of Hickory Lane, across the street.

At the second location, officers moved in and detained the three inside the two vehicles.

Smallwood and King, after being detained and advised of their Miranda rights, told officers they were traveling to Hanover from Baltimore and “didn’t know anything about a drug deal.”

Upon calling the phone number used to set up the transaction, a phone in Smallwood’s possession began to ring, the affidavit states.

A search warrant on one of the vehicles was signed by a judge, the affidavit states, and inside the trunk, officers found a “large quantity” of methamphetamine, which was located in a food container and wrapped in a cloth.

A field test of the substance tested positive for methamphetamine.

Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.