A trial has been scheduled for December for the alleged leader of a cross-state drug ring who was among 26 suspects indicted by the 51st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury in November 2024.

The trial for Jeffrey Alfonso Wilkins, 43, of York, was scheduled Tuesday for the trial term beginning Dec. 7 by Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Maura Palumbi.

The indictment, which was based on an investigation by the attorney general’s office and Butler-based state police, named Wilkins as the leader of a ring that allegedly brought heroin and cocaine to Butler County from York County in 2023.

An affidavit attached to the indictment details 17 controlled drug buys made by confidential informants from Feb. 8 through Sept. 8, 2023, on streets, street corners, hotels and at a gas station. Most of the locations are in Butler, but one was in Butler Township and another one was in Saxonburg, according to the affidavit.

Wilkins — also known as “Prez” or “P” — established a network of people he trusted to deliver large amounts of controlled substances from York County to Butler County and sell the drugs in Butler County from February through December 2023, according to the affidavit used to obtain the indictment. He has been held in Butler County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail since his arrest in November 2024.

State police and the attorney general’s office used electronic and in-person surveillance, GPS, cellphone tower tracking, recorded prison phone calls, search warrants, 10 confidential informants and traffic stops in the investigation.