Father-daughter duo found with over a pound of meth, fentanyl in Bedford County, troopers said

BEDFORD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A father-daughter “outing” to visit her boyfriend in Bedford County Prison ended in their own arrest when police said they found more than a pound of deadly drugs stashed under their car.

John Rickenbach Jr., 42, and his daughter Kayla, 23, both of Reading, were arrested and charged with drug possession with intent to deliver after a traffic stop Tuesday night in East Providence Township.

According to the criminal complaint, state troopers spotted the duo on Lincoln Highway in a Chevy Blazer and noted that they crossed over the yellow line. A query came back that the vehicle was registered to John and they found he had two warrants out of Berks County. Troopers said they positively identified Kayla because she was the passenger in another drug bust on the Fourth of July.

Troopers said that when they pulled the vehicle over, a strong marijuana odor came from inside. According to charges, there was also a tray on the center console with marijuana on it. While talking with John at their cruiser, he alleged the duo were heading to see Kayla’s boyfriend in Bedford County Prison and then were going to Maryland for a week.

Both John and Kayla agreed to let police search the vehicle, charges show. Inside, troopers said they found multiple bags of marijuana, empty plastic bags and $2,699 in cash.

Outside of the Blazer, however, troopers found two bags zip-tied to the spare tire under the SUV. According to the complaint, one bag had one pound, three ounces of methamphetamine and the other bag had a half pound of purple fentanyl — a street value of $50,000, Bedford County District Attorney Ashlan Clark said.

The duo was taken to state police barracks in Bedford where Kayla was allegedly found with a baggie of cocaine.

“Fentanyl is one of the deadliest drugs the United States has ever seen and it’s killing our communities,” Clark said in a release. “Just two grams can kill an adult, so to get this quantity off the streets is phenomenal. Hats off to Trooper Shane Eichelberger and the rest of Pennsylvania State Police.”

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John and Kayla were arraigned around 1 a.m. Wednesday and placed in Bedford County Prison with bail set at $500,000 each.

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