Cops: Fugitive, girlfriend discovered inside tent in Unity with meth

A search Thursday for a 29-year-old Latrobe area man wanted for failing to comply with court-mandated drug tests as part of his probation led the Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies to a tent in Unity Township.

Inside the tent behind a residence on Dogwood Lane, deputies Robby Orbin and Frank Neal discovered the fugitive, Paul Plymale, hiding with his girlfriend, Sarah D. Mains, 27.

Orbin said deputies also confiscated crystal methamphetamine, several cell phones and drug paraphernalia including packaging materials.

“Deputies approached the tent and detected male and female voices. (Mains) briefly opened the front flap, then retreated back inside the tent and Plymale and Mains both refused to come out,” Orbin said.

Members of the department’s warrant team forcibly took the couple into custody.

Plymale was ordered held in the county jail on a detainer for the court violation. He also is charged with possession and delivery of a controlled substance, flight to avoid apprehension and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to online court dockets. The probation violation follows his 2015 arrest in Derry on drug-related charges, according to court records.

Mains, who has also resided in the Ligonier area, was held in the county jail on a probation violation. She is charged with possession of a controlled substance, criminal conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia.