Drug bust in city lands 5 suspects in county jail
Three men from Philadelphia and a woman are accused of selling heroin at her apartment in Butler.
State police vice officers on Thursday arrested the foursome at the home at 122 Pillow St., which they had under watch for suspected drug activity.
Police seized 147 stamp bags of suspected heroin, 15 baggies of suspected crack cocaine, nearly $1,500 in currency, and other contraband that indicated drug trafficking there, investigators said,
Charged are Omar S. Brown, 25; William T. Laws, 23; Tanni K. Milligan, 24,; and Damier R. McNeely, 22.
During the police vice unit investigation, officers conducted surveillance and made two controlled drug buys at the apartment, court documents said. Milligan is the sole tenant there.
The evidence gathered led to police obtaining a search warrant for the house. All four defendants were quickly arrested, police said.
Inside a toilet bowl, officers retrieved 15 baggies of crack cocaine, documents said.
Milligan also admitted that she was hiding bags of heroin inside her body. In her bra, a female Butler police officer found $129 in currency.
The men also had money, including $1,118 on Laws, $167 on Brown and $54 on McNeely. Brown also was carrying a package of Suboxone.
Police combed the apartment and found a digital scale, five syringes and two metal drug-cooking spoons, documents said.
District Judge Kevin O’Donnell arraigned all of the suspects on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and tampering with physical evidence.
Each is in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bailMeanwhile, during the search of the home, another suspected dealer showed up and was nabbed, authorities said.That suspect, Tara L. Hockenberry, 23, of Butler, was the target of a vice unit investigation in 2014.According to court papers, Hockenberry on Oct. 14, 2014, sold heroin and crack cocaine to a police informant on Broad Street at State Street in Butler.She also was arraigned Thursday on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.Following arraignment, she was placed in the county prison on $25,000 bail.
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