Man waives preliminary hearing

NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The last person accused in a suspected cocaine ring has waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
Ben Tolbert, 34, of Bell Avenue was ordered to stand trial on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver, delivery of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility.
Tolbert, an inmate at the Mercer State Correctional Facility on unrelated charges, was returned to jail after appearing before District Justice Melissa Amodie on Friday.
He is one of 12 people charged after a two-year investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and the New Castle Police Department. Authorities said nearly $500,000 worth of suspected cocaine was brought to New Castle by the group.
Tolbert will be formally arraigned in the next few months and then a trial date will be set.