Williamsport, Pa. — A late move by defense attorneys to have a witness invoke their right to spousal privilege derailed the prosecution’s case against a coke dealer Tuesday.
Faith Marie Hendricks of Upland is married to Tyrice Lamar Bowen of Philadelphia. Henrdricks allegedly gave several ounces of cocaine to a child in to hide it from police after Bowen directed her to do so. On Tuesday, she exercised her right to not testify against him as his spouse before a one-day trial began.
It left prosecutors in a difficult spot, opening a door for defense attorney Robert Hoffa to request resolution on all five pending cases against Bowen.
At one time the 42-year-old Bowen was facing a possible 10 years per count if convicted. Tuesday’s events changed his fortunes as prosecutors begrudgingly agreed to consolidate the cases into a single charge of delivering cocaine. Bowen, who gets 15 months for time served, was sentenced to 2-5 years inside a state correctional institution as part of the plea agreement.
There is no guarantee he will be paroled after two years. According to President Judge Eric Linhardt, it will be up to a parole board, but Bowen will not serve more then five years. Bowen will pay the Lycoming County Narcotics Unit $940 in restitution and all the standard cost of prosecution. He will be fingerprinted and give DNA.
During the hearing, Bowen agreed that he sold up to 50 grams of cocaine to confidential informants working with county detectives.
Giving cocaine to preteen
Tuesday’s trial stemmed from Bowen being arrested and calling Hendricks to get rid of cocaine in January of 2022.
Hendricks was ordered by Bowen to get cocaine from an apartment in the 2000 block of Mill Lane and dispose of three ounces before police got to it. As Hendricks, who was accompanied by her 12-year-old child, started to leave the apartment, detectives arrived.
Sensing authorities were present, Hendricks stalled police as the child ran from the home with a duffle bag of drugs. They were eventually caught and showed police where the cocaine was stashed.
After being charged, Hendricks agreed to plead guilty to tampering with evidence. During a guilty plea hearing, she named Bowen twice by his first name and again by his last when asked who told her about the drugs at the apartment. She said Bowen directed her to the stash.
This is a line-for-line conversation Hendricks had under oath:
“All right, who was it that directed you,” Prosecutor Matthew Welickovitch asked about the drugs.
“Tyrice,” Hendricks replied. “Tyrice.”
“And his last name,” Welickovitch asked.
“Bowen,” Hendricks responded.
Despite Hendricks admitting Bowen had access to cocaine, the spousal privilege protected her from testifying against him. This left a hole in the prosecutors case that could not be plugged.
All remaining counts against Bowen, including multiple drug charges, theft, and illegal use of a cell phone, were dismissed.
Tyrice Lamar Bowen docket sheet
Faith Marie Hendricks docket sheet
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Get Our Free Newsletters
Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com newsletters.
Sign Up Today!
Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter?
Afternoon Update: What’s happening today? Here’s your update!
Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox.
Keep your news local
Access to independent, local news is important, do you agree?
We work hard to deliver timely, relevant news, for free. 100% of your contribution to NorthcentralPa.com goes directly to helping us cover news and events in the region.
Thank you for saying that local news matters!