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 Hix
Animal Mother
Registered: 02/20/06
Posts: 299
Last seen: 1 year, 26 days
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 16 arrested in drug sweep [PA]
#6548605 - 02/09/07 07:34 PM (1 year, 9 months ago) |
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These guys are pretty much fucked
http://www.thederrick.com/stories/02092007-5002.shtml
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A 10-month investigation into heroin and cocaine activity in Venango County culminated Thursday with the arrests of 16 suspected drug dealers. Five other suspects are being sought.
Dubbed Operation Raw Deal, the investigation focused on the alleged distribution and sale of heroin and cocaine within the county, Attorney General Tom Corbett said Thursday morning at a press conference in Oil City council chambers.
Evidence and testimony about the alleged drug sales were presented to a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended the criminal charges that were filed Thursday, Corbett said.
Identified as principals in the drug ring were Leroy Birchard, 24, of 1611 Fryburg Road, Venus, and John Watkins, 35, of 3912 Archwood Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. The men brought multiple-ounce quantities of raw heroin and cocaine from Pittsburgh and Hazleton on a weekly basis and repackaged the drugs for distribution and sale through street-level dealers in Oil City, according to Corbett.
Corbett said Oil City is similar to many communities across the state that are to trying to combat the drug problem.
"What we see is a demand for the drugs. ... These dealers will be replaced by others as long as the demand is here," he said.
Operation Raw Deal was one of three large drug sweeps within the last 28 months, said Venango County District Attorney Marie Veon.
Nineteen people, mainly from Venango, Crawford and Warren counties, were charged with various drug offenses as a result of a cocaine investigation in October 2004. Sixteen people from a drug ring with Detroit ties were arrested during an extensive sweep in August 2005.
Also, dozens of methamphetamine labs have been discovered in the area during the past several years.
"Over the past decade, many of our dealers have come from outside the area. ... We know the drugs are coming from New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia. Some of these drugs came from Detroit," Corbett said.
Thursday's sweep started at about 6 a.m. and involved more than 40 agents and officers from departments including the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation (BNI), police departments in Oil City, Franklin, Sugarcreek, Cambridge Springs, Polk Borough and Edinboro, as well as the Venango County district attorney's office and the State Board of Probation and Parole. All cooperated in arresting and arraigning the suspects.
Birchard is charged with five counts of delivery of cocaine, five counts of possession of cocaine, one count of delivery of heroin, one count of possession of heroin and one count of criminal conspiracy.
Watkins was still at large Thursday, but he is charged with two counts each of delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine.
Corbett said Bureau of Narcotics Investigation agents made a total of 39 controlled drug purchases from Feb. 2, 2006, to Nov. 8, 2006. The majority of the transactions occurred in Oil City, but drug deliveries also occurred in Franklin, Titusville, Sugarcreek and Cranberry Township, Corbett said.
The drug sales took place at homes, apartments and trailer parks in Venango County, at the Oil City Library, at McDonald's restaurants in Titusville and Oil City, and at the Rite Aid Pharmacy in Oil City. Other locations included Telereach and a Thorne's Market parking lot in Oil City, at Country Fair in Sugarcreek Borough and at the Oil City Pizza Hut.
"The investigation demonstrates how pervasive illegal drugs can be, and how quickly communities like Oil City can become the center of a drug trafficking network," Corbett said.
During the past 25 years, the face of the heroin and cocaine user/dealer has evolved from a stereotypical inner-city gangster to encompass all income levels and genders from rural to urban settings, said Corbett.
A cross section of those arrrested Thursday, including men and women ages 20 to 50, supports Corbett's claims.
In addition to Birchard, the 15 others arrested were:
* Jerry Buck, 34, Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of heroin and possession of heroin.
* Misty Goodman, 28, 406 Hoffman Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of heroin, possession of heroin, delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine.
* Kevin Hibbard, 23, 347 Washington Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of cocaine, possession of cocaine and criminal conspiracy.
* Wendy Hoover, 45, 257 Bissell Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of heroin, possession of heroin, delivery of cocaine, possession of cocaine, criminal conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia.
* Stephen Jackson, 23, 306 Pine St., Oil City, charged with one count of delivery of heroin and one count of possession of heroin.
* Sherry Luhellier, 36, 514 Hoffman Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of hydrocodone, possession of hydrocodone and criminal conspiracy.
* Shelley McElhattan, 43, 1401 Chestnut St., Franklin, charged with two counts of delivery of hydromorphone.
* Rodney Plowman, 40, 514 Hoffman Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of hydrocodone, possession of hydrocodone and criminal conspiracy.
* Jason Quigley, 23, 15 Pearl Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine.
* Brian Reed, 24, 2031/2 Lees Lane, Oil City, charged with two counts of delivery of cocaine and two counts of possession of cocaine.
* William Scholl, 40, 409 Bissell Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of heroin, possession of heroin, delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine.
* Shane Stahlman, 20, 9 Jefferson St., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine.
* Ronald Swanson Jr., 25, 69 Grove Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of heroin and possession of heroin.
* Kevin VanWormer, 22, 1016 West Third St., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of heroin, possession of heroin, delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine.
* Brian O'Reilly, 31, Hudson, Ohio, charged with two counts each of delivery of heroin and possession of heroin, and one count each of delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine. O'Reilly was in custody in Ohio and will be arrested in Pennsylvania today.
In addition to Watkins, the following have been charged but not yet arrested:
* Jerry Ray Breck III, 23, 15 Pearl Ave., Oil City, charged with two counts of possession of cocaine and one count each of delivery of cocaine and possession with intent to deliver cocaine.
* Shirley Crispen, 50, Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of morphine and possession of morphine.
* Anthony Hale, 25, 41 E. Bissell Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of heroin, possession of heroin, delivery of cocaine, possession of cocaine and criminal conspiracy to delivery ecstasy.
* Kimberly Hale, 27, 41 E. Bissell Ave., Oil City, charged with one count each of delivery of ecstasy, possession of ecstasy and conspiracy to deliver ecstasy.
Criminal charges against Shelley McElhattan were filed before District Judge Robert Boyer in Franklin, while the remaining criminal charges were filed before District Judge Douglas Dinberg in Seneca.
Corbett extended his appreciation to all agencies involved in Thursday's arrests.
"Every town has a problem. We need a unified approach to attack the heart of this problem," he said.
The cases will be prosecuted in Venango County by senior deputy attorney general Douglas J. Wright of the Attorney General's drug strike force section.
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