Man faces drug charges after raid at city house
County narcotics officers Wednesday night arrested an Allegheny County man and seized about 20 grams of suspected crack cocaine and a gun with an obliterated serial number, following a raid at an apartment in Butler.
Michael G. Medley, 36, of East Pittsburgh is being held in Butler County Prison on felony drug possession and weapons charges.
The arrest followed a July investigation by the Butler County Drug Task Force into the alleged sale of crack at the apartment on the 300 block of West New Castle Street and by Medley, authorities said.
A police informant was used to make controlled drug buys from the defendant as part of the investigation, said county Detective Tim Fennell, who heads the task force.
A search warrant was obtained Wednesday for the apartment. The warrant was executed about 8 p.m.
Officers, who believed there could be a gun or guns at the apartment, used a “flash bang” grenade before entering the home.
Medley was found hiding in the living room closet, according to court documents.
In the closet and under a pile of clothes, investigators said, officers found four baggies containing suspected crack, a loaded 9 mm pistol with the serial number removed, and $2,076 in currency.
The search also turned up a digital scale, crack pipes and multiple cell phones.
Medley was arraigned Thursday on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, and carrying a firearm without a license.
Additionally, he was arraigned on misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.Medley was placed in the county jail on $50,000 bail following arraignment.Fennell said the seized gun would be turned over to crime lab technicians in hopes they can restore the serial number.Officers by chance Wednesday arrested two other wanted men — Mustafa K. Hill, 29, of Philadelphia and Tony R. Mendoza, 33, of Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County — who were in a neighboring apartment moments before the raid.Hill apparently heard the commotion and tried to run, Fennell said. He was quickly stopped. When officers checked the apartment where he'd been, they found Mendoza.Authorities said Hill was wanted on a state parole warrant. Mendoza was wanted by Wilkinsburg police on an arrest warrant. Both men were placed in the county prison.Mendoza was found with suspected crack, Fennell said, and the task force plans to charge him with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
