Task force nabs 2 in raid; drugs, cash, gun seized
Two suspected drug dealers, one from Michigan, were arrested and a quantity of suspected heroin and crack cocaine were seized in a Tuesday morning raid at a Butler apartment, authorities said.
Butler County Drug Task Force officers, assisted by city police, also confiscated more than $4,000 in currency and a loaded handgun at the home in the 100 block of Second Avenue.
Jailed on felony drug possession and other charges are Archie M. Johnson, 24, of Detroit; and 45-year-old Lee R. Hockenberry, who lives at the apartment.
An anonymous message left on the task force tip line in April 2013 apparently caught the attention of investigators, according to court documents.
Butler police in October received more information “indicating that Lee Hockenberry is selling large amounts of crack cocaine from the same apartment,” documents said.
City police were called to the apartment on July 18 after Hockenberry suffered an apparent drug overdose.
The task force ratcheted up its investigation targeting the home. Officers earlier this week used a police informant to conduct a controlled drug buy, documents said.
District Judge Sue Haggerty on Tuesday issued the task force a search warrant for the apartment. Officers served it at 6:30 a.m. and found both defendants there.
The search turned up an Xbox 360 that was in the bathroom’s drop ceiling. In the Xbox was a plastic bag containing suspected heroin and crack.
County Detective Tim Fennell, who heads the task force, said the drugs taken from the apartment later field tested positive for heroin and crack.
The seized drugs will be sent to the state police crime lab for analysis.
Fennell said the suspected heroin weighed 8.3 grams and the crack weighed 7.8 grams.
Officers also found in the bathroom a digital scale with powder residue on it, and a .22-caliber pistol, documents said.
Investigators later learned that Johnson is a felon and is barred by state law from possessing firearms.
A search of Hockenberry’s bedroom uncovered two crack pipes, authorities said.
Under the living room couch, investigators said, police found a pair of cargo shorts belonging to Johnson. In the shorts was $4,525, Fennell said.
Haggerty arraigned both defendants on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver.
Both, too, are charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.
Johnson also was arraigned on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm. He is in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail.
Hockenberry was placed in the county jail on $50,000 bail, following arraignment. Among Hockenberry’s convictions in Pennsylvania are misdemeanor drug possession and drunken driving.
Johnson admitted at his arraignment that he has several prior arrests in Michigan, including one for a home invasion this year.
