Vernon Daniels Jr.

An Allegheny County man was sentenced to state prison in Butler County Court on Thursday, after being charged in two drug distribution cases.

Vernon A. Daniels Jr., 29, of Natrona Heights, was sentenced to 2½ to 6 years in a state correctional institution. President Judge Thomas Doerr gave Daniels 372 days credit for time served and ordered him to pay court costs.

Daniels previously pleaded guilty to two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance — heroin — on Jan. 31. He was sentenced on two probation revocation incidents, after admitting the violations. Doerr revoked his probation in two previous cases and resentenced him to 3 to 12 months on each case, to run concurrent to his state sentence.

His attorney, Robert Vincler, claimed Daniels was a heroin addict who was selling to support his and his girlfriend's addictions.

Daniels apologized during the proceedings for “anything I did wrong in Butler County.”

He was initially charged with three counts of felony possession with intent, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm prohibited, false written statement, tampering with evidence, three counts of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of paraphernalia and several summary traffic violations after two incidents on March 16.

State police filed the charges after a traffic stop on Route 356 near Monroe Road in Buffalo Township, after pulling over the vehicle for a bad license plate, belonging to another vehicle.

During the stop, police said the driver was seen throwing something out the window, which was later found to be a plastic bag of suspected marijuana.

Daniels acknowledged that he did not have a license and it didn't take long for police to learn that he also was wanted on a warrant.

A search of Daniels turned up 200 stamp bags of heroin that he had hidden under his clothes.

That incident culminated a nearly yearlong investigation into Daniels' alleged heroin distribution in Butler County.

Following that, state police vice officers served a search warrant at Daniels' rental home in Allegheny County, which turned up a stolen 9 mm handgun, a large bag of unpackaged heroin, baggies of crack cocaine and marijuana, and $2,390 in currency, police said.

Those charges were consolidated with the Butler County case due to the ongoing investigation.