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ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — An Altoona man is facing multiple drug-related charges after police discovered a large amount of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia at his residence on July 25.

Christopher Kruis, 26, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, criminal conspiracy, delivery or possession with intention to deliver a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police said that they were dispatched at 9:46 a.m. for reports of two young children on the front porch that stated that they were home alone.

Witnesses told police that they were out for a morning walk when they were contacted by the children on the porch, ages 5 and 6, who indicated that they were home alone.

While speaking to the children, a male exited the front of the residence who said that he was the acting guardian for the children since their respective fathers were not home, who both lived at the residence with their respective child. The male was identified as Kruis’ brother.

Kruis’ brother gave officers permission to inspect the living conditions of the residence to ensure the welfare of the children. According to police, the children led them to the basement, stating that the basement was where they spent a lot of time every morning. Police said that one of the children said the basement smelled good.

Police said that they noticed an overwhelming odor of both fresh and burnt marijuana upon entry to the basement. Police also said that the basement was set up like a living room with furniture such as a couch, TV and coffee table, where several smoking devices were in plain view.

The smoking devices included glass jars, silicone containers, plastic baggies, a scale, and marijuana, according to the report. Another table and a TV stand included a multi-colored silicone container commonly used to contain narcotics, a glass pipe, and containers typically used to store marijuana/THC oils.

Police returned to the main floor to find Kruis’ brother. Police said he had a “disheveled” look and was acting nervous. He said that the contents in the basement were “Stuff we probably aren’t supposed to have” and said that all of the items belonged to his brother, Kruis.

Kruis’ brother was taken into custody and transported to Altoona Police Department while police applied for a search warrant. During this, police said that a white panel van was driving past the residence and one of the children indicated that the van belonged to his father.

According to the report, Kruis arrived several minutes later and he was taken into custody and transported to Altoona Police Department.

Police said that Kruis stated that all of the marijuana and paraphernalia was his and that officers would locate approximately one pound of marijuana in a black box, explaining that he purchases one lump sum of marijuana every month.

Police returned to the residence at 1:07 p.m. with a search warrant, where they discovered one pound of marijuana in a black fire box underneath the coffee table. The marijuana was packaged in 11 plastic baggies, with four of the baggies containing two ounces of marijuana and seven of the baggies containing one ounce of marijuana, according to the report.

According to the report, the box also contained five clear glass jars with marijuana inside, totaling to an amount of one ounce, marijuana wax/butter, drug paraphernalia and $450.

Police discovered a bag on the TV stand that contained two small bags of marijuana, $946.58 and a bank card and Pennsylvania identification card that belonged to the father of the other child at Kruis’ residence. The TV stand also contained a large amount of newly packaged vape pen mouth pieces, cartridges, atomizers and herbal liquidizer juices.

Police said that the large amount of vaping materials and the presence of marijuana/wax butter mixed with the herbal liquidizer would be consistent with the manufacturing of a type of vape juice.

According to the report, a storage cabinet contained glass jars that appeared to have been used to store marijuana and a large assortment of smoking devices. An additional $1,000 was located in Kruis’ bedroom, along with a black Droid phone and drug paraphernalia. The guest bedroom that the father of the other child was staying in contained a scale, packaging material and a marijuana pipe.

Both of the children were transferred to the custody of Kruis’ mother. Children and Youth Services were notified of the incident and will be following up, according to police.

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