Fair 23°
Police & Fire
Drug Trafficking Group With California Ties Operated In Southeast PA: Feds Drug Trafficking Group With California Ties Operated In Southeast PA: Feds
Drug Trafficking Group With California Ties Operated In Southeast PA: Feds Five members of an alleged trafficking group active in greater Philadelphia face federal charges, the US Attorney's Office announced this week.  Investigators say the group sent cocaine and methamphetamine to Pennsylvania through the mail for distribution in Reading, Quakertown, Bensalem, Plymouth Township, Coopersburg, and elsewhere. Authorities said they seized 40 firearms, over 100,000 rounds of ammunition, 60 pounds of meth, one kilogram of fentanyl, one kilogram of cocaine, 65 pounds of marijuana, 300 fentanyl pills, six pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, and $15,000 cash from the su…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Meth, Cocaine Seized From 73-Year-Old's Allentown Home: Police Meth, Cocaine Seized From 73-Year-Old's Allentown Home: Police
Meth, Cocaine Seized From 73-Year-Old's Allentown Home: Police A 73-year-old man faces drug charges after police served search warrants at his Allentown home last week, according to authorities.  Police said they removed cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana from the Liberty Street residence of John Arthur Berrian on Friday, Nov. 10.  A shotgun was also seized, they added.  Berrian is charged with possession with intent to deliver and related counts, the police department said. Court records show he was unable to post his $20,000 bail and was remanded to the Lehigh County jail.  He is due back in court for his preliminary hearin…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA 7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA
7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA A week after "Operation Knockout" saw 29 accused drug dealers charged in Berks County, prosecutors say seven of them are still on the run.  Roughly $1.5 million in cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other substances were seized by authorities in recent weeks as part of their effort targeting a "large-scale drug trafficking organization" based in and around Reading, officials have said.  The organization, according to the DA's Office, was being supplied by a source who had "direct links to a Mexican cartel." Only 18 of the suspects were in custody when authorities announced "Operation…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Thelma & Louise? Out-Of-State Pair With Phony Plate, Stolen IDs, Disguises Nabbed By Oakland PD Thelma & Louise? Out-Of-State Pair With Phony Plate, Stolen IDs, Disguises Nabbed By Oakland PD
Thelma & Louise? Out-Of-State Pair With Phony Plate, Stolen IDs, Disguises Nabbed By Oakland PD Two out-of-state ID thieves with a cardboard license plate sped off from Oakland police down the wrong side of the road but were tracked down a short time later, authorities said. Sgt. Michael Griffin spotted the pair in a 2023 Nissan Maxima entering an exit and pulling up to a drive-through window at a TD Bank on Ramapo Valley Road around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, Capt. Timothy Keenan said. The Maxima had tinted windows and an unreadable rear license plate apparently printed on a piece of cardboard, the captain said. Seeing the police, the driver backed out of the drive-through and sped …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Dealer Gets 14 Years Without Parole In Historic Jersey Shore Drug Bust, Brother Up Next Dealer Gets 14 Years Without Parole In Historic Jersey Shore Drug Bust, Brother Up Next
Dealer Gets 14 Years Without Parole In Historic Jersey Shore Drug Bust, Brother Up Next UPDATE: The second of two brothers who pleaded guilty in the largest drug bust in Atlantic County history -- 45 pounds of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine combined -- was the first to be sentenced. Fourteen years was the best that Ricardo Clavijo, 42, of Egg Harbor Township could get from a plea deal with the federal government. He'll have to serve just about all of it, too, because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Clavijo’s brother, Christopher Gonzalez of Pleasantville, is up for sentencing next. The brothers had more than 20 kilos combined of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Detoxing PA Inmate Dies 3 Days After Arrest: Authorities Detoxing PA Inmate Dies 3 Days After Arrest: Authorities
Detoxing PA Inmate Dies 3 Days After Arrest: Authorities A 60-year-old man going through a detox protocol died at the Allegheny County Jail on May 25, 2023, county officials say.  The unnamed man was "brought in by a local police department on a bench warrant for retail theft for another county and booked on May 22," county officials explained in a release late on Thursday.  A drug screen showed he had opiates, including fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs in his system so the jail healthcare staff "initiated a detox protocol for him," the officials explained in the release. The man was found unresponsive in his cell around 4 p.m. Thurs…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
$700K In Meth Seized From Lehigh County Traffickers: Authorities $700K In Meth Seized From Lehigh County Traffickers: Authorities
$700K In Meth Seized From Lehigh County Traffickers: Authorities Seven members of an alleged drug trafficking ring based in Lehigh County face criminal charges following a months-long investigation by state agents, officials say.  “Thanks to strong collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we have removed dangerous drug dealers — and the poisons they were peddling —from the streets of Pennsylvania,” said state Attorney General Michelle Henry in a statement.  The following are charged with corrupt organizations, conspiracy, drug possession with intent to distribute, and related counts:  Ismael Morales Jessica Morales Mario Morales …

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
'Operation: Hey You Guys' Brings Down 'Goonies Gang' In Coatesville, DA Says 'Operation: Hey You Guys' Brings Down 'Goonies Gang' In Coatesville, DA Says
'Operation: Hey You Guys' Brings Down 'Goonies Gang' In Coatesville, DA Says A pair of police investigations in Coatesville culminated with the arrests of 19 suspected drug dealers and the dismantlement of two trafficking groups, prosecutors claim.  Dubbed "Operation: Hey You Guys" and "Operation: Roasting Chestnuts," the probes took aim at two separate but related drug trafficking organizations, said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan.  "Roasting Chesnuts" began in the summer of 2022, when residents on the 500 block of East Chestnut Street complained to police about safety concerns due to suspected drug activity in the area, police said.  Neighbors were "a…

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by Mac Bullock
News
PA Police Chief, Marine, Dad Arrested On Meth, Cocaine Related Charges: Report PA Police Chief, Marine, Dad Arrested On Meth, Cocaine Related Charges: Report
PA Police Chief, Marine, Dad Arrested On Meth, Cocaine Related Charges: Report A western Pennsylvania police chief was arrested on drug charges involving methamphetamine and cocaine, WPXI reports citing court documents.  Greensburg Police Chief Shawn Denning was arrested at Greensburg City Hall by DEA agents on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, according to the outlet. He was charged with six drug-related offenses involving meth and cocaine, the outlet reports citing the federal indictment.  Denning was recently promoted to chief in March 2022 after serving on the force for 14 years prior to that he served four years in the Marines, where he completed one combat tour in Ir…

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by Jillian Pikora
Schools
Lehigh Valley Teacher, Coach Sexually Assaulted Girl At Hotels, Provided Cocaine, Alcohol: DA Lehigh Valley Teacher, Coach Sexually Assaulted Girl At Hotels, Provided Cocaine, Alcohol: DA
Lehigh Valley Teacher, Coach Sexually Assaulted Girl At Hotels, Provided Cocaine, Alcohol: DA A Lehigh Valley high school teacher and head volleyball coach has been slapped with sexual assault charges and placed on admin leave by investigators who say he gave his juvenile victim cocaine and alcohol throughout meetups in hotels and parking lots. Freedom High School teacher and girls’ Head Volleyball Coach Christopher Schweikert, 27, was charged with sexual assault by a sports official, corruption of minors, and institutional sexual assault, Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck announced on Friday, Jan. 13. Schweikert, of Coplay, met his victim during her freshman year, wh…

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by Valerie Musson
News
899 Bags Of Fentanyl, Cocaine Found On Group, Including Mass. Man During PA Traffic Stop 899 Bags Of Fentanyl, Cocaine Found On Group, Including Mass. Man During PA Traffic Stop
899 Bags Of Fentanyl, Cocaine Found On Group, Including Mass. Man During PA Traffic Stop A Massuchesetts man, a woman, and two men from Pennsylvania were arrested after a traffic stop led police to discover hundreds of packets of fentanyl and cocaine among other illicit items.  Officers pulled over the group's vehicle in the 300 block of New Holland Avenue in Lancaster City on Monday, Dec. 12 at 10:30 p.m. During a search of the vehicle the police found and seized these items: 899 packets of fentanyl. 33.8 grams of crack and powder cocaine. 46.4 grams of marijuana. Multiple types of drug paraphernalia. One unlawfully possessed handgun. All four people in the car were arr…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Fentanyl, Cocaine Worth $4.3M Seized In Takedown Of Massive PA Drug Ring, DA Says Fentanyl, Cocaine Worth $4.3M Seized In Takedown Of Massive PA Drug Ring, DA Says
Fentanyl, Cocaine Worth $4.3M Seized In Takedown Of Massive PA Drug Ring, DA Says Nearly thirty people are facing criminal charges after authorities dismantled a "large-scale" operation that trafficked drugs from Mexico and Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania, with nearly $4.3 million worth of fentanyl and cocaine seized as evidence, authorities said. In an early-morning roundup on Thursday, Dec. 1, a total of 22 adults were taken into custody, said Berks District Attorney John T. Adams and Montgomery District Attorney Kevin R. Steele in a joint statement.  Posted by Berks County District Attorney on Thursday, December 1, 2022 Posted by Berks County District Attorney on T…

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by Mac Bullock