:Butler’s State Police wants the public’s help in finding their five most wanted criminal suspects, three of whom were last seen in Butler County.

This is the first time that Troop D is using the most-wanted format to elicit the public’s help, according to Trooper Ron Kesten.

“It’s a new initiative that we’ll be doing periodically — we’ll intend to create some new ones,” Kesten said. “Sometimes these individuals are hard to locate, so any time we could get the public to help on their whereabouts is always a big help.”

In the past, the troop has issued individual news releases that typically involved people who were missing. Kesten said that these missing notices often generate a good response from the public.

He’s hoping that local residents also will be able to help in the authorities’ effort to find the five people who are wanted for a number of suspected crimes.

Among the five is 31-year-old James R. Hutchinson III who is wanted in connection with three separate drug deals in Butler, authorities said. Hutchinson, known by the street name “G Real,” is accused of selling heroin to a police informant in 2016. He was last seen in the city.

Police obtained three arrest warrants for each deal and, in all, Hutchinson is charged with three felony counts each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility as well as two misdemeanor counts each of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

Court records show that he also is wanted on a bench warrant that was issued in August 2016 after he failed to appear for a court hearing in a driving under the influence of a controlled substance case in Butler Township.

The others, who were last seen in Butler County, are Cassady Jane Ekelberger, 23, who is wanted for a 2018 assault by vehicle in Mercer County, and Phillip Anthony Campbell, 38, who is wanted for a 2018 possession with intent to deliver drugs in Butler.

The other two suspects on the wanted list are Dwayne Edward Hawk, 51, and Jeremiah James-Loyd Kloos, 21. Hawk is accused of a rape in Armstrong County and Kloos is wanted for a suspected aggravated assault in Mercer County.

In determining the top five most wanted, Kesten said, state police prioritized the people who have been the hardest to find. They do not, he noted, represent people who authorities think are the most dangerous.