Drug busts made
A Philadelphia man only recently released from state prison was arrested Thursday night during a raid at a Butler home where authorities say he was selling heroin and crack cocaine.
Thomas L. Tillman, 29, a five-time felon, is being held in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail.
Members of the Butler County Drug Task Force as well as city and Butler Township police officers nabbed Tillman and Jennifer E. Thomas, 27, of Butler at the home in the 200 block of North Washington Street.
About 230 bags of suspected heroin, 22 individually packaged rocks of crack, a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were seized, said county Detective Tim Fennell, who heads the drug task force.
The raid about 9:15 p.m. culminated an investigation into suspected drug dealing at the home that is across the street from the city building, investigators said.
“We've been watching it for less than a month,” Fennell said of the house, which is comprised of three apartments.
Multiple controlled drug buys at the targeted apartment led to a search warrant, which was served Thursday night.Fennell said Tillman is suspected of peddling drugs there. Thomas, who has been staying there, is accused of helping him.District Judge Dave Kovach this morning arraigned both defendants on felony and misdemeanor drug possession.Authorities said charges also are pending against Mary Boring, who is listed in court documents as the tenant at the apartment. She was not home during the raid.Along with the drugs and other contraband, officers seized $187 in currency and two cell phones.Tillman was paroled from state prison in January, authorities said.Court records showed he was arrested in 2009 for aggravated assault and illegally possessing a firearm.He subsequently pleaded guilty to those charges and in 2011 and was sentenced to 7 to 19 years in state prison.
