Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges today against 13 people accused of participating in a cocaine trafficking ring between Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Law enforcement agencies dismantled the network following an investigation into hundreds of drug trips made from Youngstown, Ohio, to Butler County over the past year.
The charges result from a collaborative investigation involving the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Butler County District Attorney’s Office and the Butler City Police Department. A Statewide Investigative Grand Jury also participated in the proceedings.
Investigators allege that seven upper-level dealers based in Youngstown trafficked cocaine and crack cocaine into Butler County. The drugs were distributed directly to buyers or handled through local intermediaries living in the area.
Authorities identified seven upper-level dealers from Youngstown as central to the operation. Five of the Ohio-based defendants were arrested in Ohio this week: Anthony Chilton, Marquel Winphrie, Reinaldo Rosado Lizardi, Eddie Winphrie and Jumal McQueen. Two additional Ohio men have been charged but not named as law enforcement continues to search for them.
Six other individuals face charges in connection with the operation: Jason White, Mylan Green, Daniel Morehead, Brittany Boring, Shaddi Shanaa and Donald Vargo. According to investigators, the Butler County-based dealers received payment in cash or drugs for their involvement in distributing the substances.
Attorney General Dave Sunday emphasized the impact of the operation on local communities following the announcement.
“This criminal organization made routine — sometimes daily — trips into Pennsylvania to distribute poisons into our communities,” Sunday said. “Working with our partners, these arrests effectively shut down a major cocaine trafficking pipeline.”
All 13 individuals face felony charges of corrupt organizations, drug trafficking offenses and related crimes. The Office of Attorney General’s Drug Strike Force Section will prosecute the cases.
The U.S. Marshals Service is assisting state and local law enforcement in ongoing efforts to locate and arrest the remaining suspects.
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