DA: Central City drug dealer gets 13 to 26 years in prison

David Hurst, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 6—SOMERSET — A Central City man who was arrested last fall with more than $175,000 in drugs in his possession pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a list of crimes and was sentenced to 13 to 26 years in prison, Somerset County Acting District Attorney Molly Metzgar said.

Jordan S. Rasbach, 36, appeared in court before Somerset County Judge Scott Bittner and admitted guilt to eight of 15 charges filed against him — most of them felonies. That included counts of possession with intent to deliver drugs, simple assault and firearm possession without a license, Metzgar said.

"I am very proud to get a drug dealer that has been a danger to our community for years off of the street and put him behind bars for a substantial period," she said.

Metzgar credited the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General for lending its resources and expertise in the investigation. She cited work by Senior Deputy Attorney General David Gorman, a former Blair County prosecutor now working in Attorney General Josh Shapiro's office, for helping bring the case to a close.

Earlier this year, Rasbach was charged with a list of crimes dating back to the time of a Montgomery County traffic arrest in 2019.

According to prosecutors, that investigation grew after Rasbach was arrested on a property along U.S. Route 30 in October with nearly $175,000 in methamphetamine and heroin in his possession.

The seizure, which included two pounds of methamphetamine and more than 50 bricks of heroin, was one of the largest in Somerset County's history, Metzgar said at the time.

According to Gorman, investigators determined Rasbach made an average of two trips a month to Philadelphia for new supplies of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs, which he would distribute in Somerset and Cambria counties.

The Somerset County District Attorney's Office, Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General partnered with authorities in the Philadelphia area on the case, which led to the charges.