2 women in their 60s accused of trafficking marijuana through Falls

Posted: Monday, December 22, 2014

A 65-year-old Oregon woman claims she was selling healing crystals. A 63-year-old Falls woman said that she sold quilts.

But Bucks County detectives say both businesses were fronts for a bi-coastal marijuana trafficking business the women operated since 2012, according to court documents.

On Monday, the alleged marijuana supplier — Joan D’Arcy, of Portland, Oregon — was arraigned on felony drug delivery charges before District Judge Jan Vislosky. She was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $950,000 bail.

County detectives started investigating D’Arcy, who also goes by the name Joan Darcy, after speaking with a source in April who claimed Deborah Page was using her quilting business as a front to have packages of marijuana shipped to a Falls post office box, according to authorities. The source also allegedly told detectives that at least once in 2013 Page provided marijuana that she kept in a Falls storage locker.

Page was eventually arrested on felony drug delivery charges in July and released on $100,000 unsecured bail. She is awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for next month.

In May, a U.S. postal inspector was notified that a package from Portland was shipped to Page, who subsequently picked it up and then drove to the Lincoln Highway storage center where the marijuana was stored, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

A second package addressed to Page’s quilting store arrived at the Falls post office box later in May, court records show. U.S. postal authorities arranged for a trained drug-sniffing dog to check the package, and the dog responded positive to the presence of narcotics, the documents said.

In June, county detectives executed a search warrant at Page’s storage unit and her Berwyn Road home in Falls. More than 16 pounds of marijuana, $22,000 and a record of distribution and locations were seized, the affidavit said.

Two days later, on June 28, another shipment for Page arrived at the Morrisville post office box from Oregon. Bucks County detectives set up surveillance and saw an unidentified male pick up the box, they said. Shortly after, he was stopped by police and the box seized.

The box was addressed to Page’s quilting business and the sender was “Healing Waters and Sacred Spaces” in Portland. Six bags of marijuana, one marked “Lemon Diesel,” were inside the box, court records show. Police also confiscated from the man an empty box addressed to “Healing Waters,” a key to the storage center in Falls and one to Page’s P.O. Box, $2,800 and an envelope addressed to Page’s quilting business, authorities said.

The man allegedly admitted to selling marijuana for Page since he was in 10th- or 11th-grade at Pennsbury High School. He told authorities Page recently went on vacation and gave him the key to pick up a delivery containing marijuana from her source in Portland named Joan, detectives said.

The man said he received a text message from D’Arcy and was told by authorities to respond that he picked up the package and would be sending her $3,800 as payment, court documents said. Authorities provided the man with a fake tracking number to give to D’Arcy.

Over the next 23 days, Bucks County Detective Timothy Carroll communicated with D’Arcy on the man’s cellphone about sending money to her for the marijuana. He was told to send money in a parcel addressed to Healing Waters and Sacred Spaces at a Portland address, police said.

Carroll provided D’Arcy with two phony tracking numbers for the money owed for the marijuana. He also gave her a phone number used by the USPS and the U.S. postal inspector.

In July, U.S. postal inspectors in Portland visited D’Arcy at her Healing Waters business address. She declined to talk and requested her lawyer, court records show.

Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia