Rillton man accused of fighting with state agents, police serving search warrant

A Rillton man who blamed a 2015 bank robbery on a heroin addiction was jailed Thursday on $100,000 bond after allegedly fighting with police and state narcotics agents serving a search warrant at his home.

Justin W. Buckholz, 31, was arraigned on three counts of possession of a controlled substance and single counts of possession and delivery of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of firearms, resisting arrest and simple assault filed by North Huntingdon police after the 6 a.m. incident.

Officer Shane Rebel reported investigators seized 90 suspected stamp bags of heroin, a plastic bag of suspected methamphetamine, prescription painkillers, a small amount of marijuana and narcotics packaging materials from Buckholz’s home on the 3100 block of Aspen Street during the search.

Police also seized three shotguns from the house, according to court documents.

Buckholz received a sentence of up to two years in the county jail after pleading guilty to the Jan. 6, 2015, robbery of the First Commonwealth Bank along Route 30 in Ligonier Township.

Buckholz admitted to Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio that he drove the getaway car for his female accomplice, Heather Dempsey, who received an identical sentence. During sentencing, Buckholz told the judge that his heroin habit drove him to help rob the bank, according to news reports.

The pair made off with $1,642 in the robbery, but were arrested by state police after they crashed near a Walmart in Somerset County.

Rebel said in court documents that Buckholz’s guilty pleas for conspiracy to commit robbery, theft and receiving stolen property made it unlawful for him to possess firearms.

When officers entered the home, Rebel said “Buckholz failed to show his hands and began to punch members of the state attorney general’s office Special Response Team, but was eventually placed into custody.”

North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware set Buckholz’s preliminary hearing for Sept. 30.