William Hooten, Leeanne Bednaro, his girlfriend, with three counts each of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substa

Police announced details of the drug bust at a news conference Friday. Police seized the drugs Wednesday in a search that grew out of the investigation of a domestic dispute.Along with the 599 bags of heroin, police found 10 grams of bulk heroin, 80 grams of powdered cocaine and 100 grams of crack cocaine in the house. The total street value of all the drugs was $52,000, police said.Altogether, the bagged and bulk heroin had a street value of $34,000 while the rest of the drugs would have sold for about $18,000, Dacus said. Police also seized $4,004 in cash from the house.Police charged William Hooten and Leeanne Bednaro, his girlfriend, with three counts each of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance, and one count each of criminal conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hooten, 29, was charged Thursday and is in Erie County Prison on $150,000 bond.
Bednaro, 18, was charged with the drug crimes Friday. She had been charged Thursday with having an unlicensed firearm, and obliterating marks of identification on a firearm. Her bond, with the drug charges, is set at $50,000.Police initially arrived at the Custer Drive house at 6:14 a.m. Wednesday after a neighbor reported hearing shots fired from inside.Police extensively questioned Hooten and Bednaro and learned enough to file a search warrant for the house, Dacus said. He said the drugs were in the living room.Dacus said Bednaro had fired the shots during an argument with Hooten.
Erie police are worried that $34,000 worth of heroin found in a house on Erie's west side could mean the powerful drug is returning to Erie.
"Heroin hasn't been as prevalent in Erie," Detective Sgt. Donald Dacus said. "This concerns us a bit, that heroin is starting to make a noticeable comeback."
Police found the heroin in bags and in bulk at the house at 1415 Custer Drive, in the neighborhood south of West 12th Street and west of Lincoln Avenue.
Dacus said police traced the bagged heroin to New York City, and he said those drugs arrived in Erie recently. He would not comment on how the drugs were transported or specifically about when they arrived.Each of the bags was stamped with the word "Juice."