PHILADELPHIA – Two large-scale Philadelphia based cocaine organizations, which distributed cocaine in the suburbs, Lehigh Valley and northeastern Pennsylvania, have been dismantled by state narcotics agents and the Philadelphia Police.
Attorney General Tom Corbett said that the joint investigation known as “Operation Dry Spell” not only dismantled the cocaine organizations, but also disrupted a planned kidnapping and robbery by one of the organizations.
Evidence and testimony regarding the drug organizations was presented to a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended the criminal charges being filed Friday.
Corbett said the drug probe began December 2006 when Attorney General narcotics agents, working with Philadelphia Police, made a series of controlled undercover buys of cocaine from Zakia “Pye” Clark of the 2800 block of Huntington Street, Philadelphia.
Narcotics agents set up a series of multi-ounce cocaine buys from Clark, which helped agents and police identify two of her cocaine suppliers as Shannon “Whoopie” McKeiver and Preston “PR” Suttles, both of Philadelphia.
The grand jury found that McKeiver and Suttles each had well established drug networks that operated independently from each other. The two organizations were capable of distributing up to four kilos of cocaine per month, with an estimated street value of $400,000.
Corbett said narcotics agents initiated court authorized wiretaps in March 2007 to determine the scope of the organization and help identify suppliers. The electronic surveillance, combined with other surveillance, showed Clark and Kailief Smith as supply links between the McKeiver and Suttles organizations.
During the wiretaps, narcotics agents heard many of the drug dealers discuss a serious drought off cocaine in the Philadelphia region due to a large Caribbean seizure of cocaine by US authorities.
Narcotics agents confirmed that in March 2007, the US Coast Guard seized 42,845 pounds of cocaine of the coast of Panama, which was the largest ever maritime seizure of cocaine.
During the cocaine shortage both McKeiver and Suttles scrambled to find suppliers. The grand jury found that during this time, McKeiver had as many as eight cocaine suppliers.
McKeiver Organization
The grand jury identified two of McKeiver’s suppliers as Kailief Smith and Demetrius “Demo” Hayes. Hayes allegedly used Tyrone “Chuck” Singleton as a middleman to deliver cocaine to McKeiver.
McKeiver typically obtained his cocaine in powder form, cooked it into crack cocaine, and then distributed the drug through his network of drug dealers.
The grand jury identified McKeiver’s key lieutenants as Tawanda Brookins, Mark “Diego” Carr and Eurika Wright.
Additional drug dealers who McKeiver supplied are Janet Washington, Gregory Morton, Derrick Thompson, Victor Holloway and Keith Dingle.
Corbett said Holloway and Dingle were from Luzerne County and typically met McKeiver in Allentown to pick up their supply of cocaine, which was then distributed to their own networks in northeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono region.
McKeiver is also charged with attempted kidnapping and robbery which stems from a March 26, 2007 plan to kidnap a rival drug dealer and steal his money and cocaine.
McKeiver’s associate, Kevin Jordan of Lansdale, Montgomery County, asked McKeiver to help him rob a Spanish drug dealer. McKeiver agreed and enlisted the help of Derrick Thompson, who McKeiver referred to as his cousin.
Corbett said narcotics agents intercepted McKeiver’s telephone conversations discussing the robbery plans with Jordan.
At approximately 5 p.m. on March 26, McKeiver and Jordan met in a Philadelphia drug store parking lot and as they were leaving to commit the robbery, Philadelphia Police stopped their vehicles.
In McKeiver’s Cadillac, police recovered a loaded .40 caliber handgun and inside Jordan’s pick-up truck they found a loaded .40 caliber handgun, an extra magazine with 14 rounds, a crowbar, latex disposable gloves, a roll of duct tape and several bungee cords with metal clips.
Corbett noted that due to previous felony convictions, neither McKeiver nor Jordan could legally possess a firearm.
According to the grand jury, when questioned by narcotics agents and the Philadelphia Police, McKeiver provided agents with a false Pennsylvania driver’s license in the name of Rasheen McCoy.
Preston Suttles Organization
The grand jury found that Preston Suttles was the ring leader of a second cocaine distribution organization, which operated in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.
Corbett said that Suttles also suffered the effects of the cocaine shortage in the Philadelphia area and often discussed the “drought” openly with members of his organization.
Despite the shortage, Suttles worked hard to obtain cocaine for his distributors.
The grand jury found that Suttles contacted either Eric Murphy or Kailief Smith to find cocaine and then had one of his main distributors, Jerome Hall, sell it to customers in Montgomery, Delaware and Philadelphia counties.
Other members of Suttles drug organization are identified as Darryl “Heavy” Parker, Isaiah “Zay” Nathaniel, Latanya Dickson, Jalonda Sharp and Brendan Gray.
Corbett noted that this is part of a continuing investigation.
Corbett thanked the Philadelphia City Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.
The case will be prosecuted in Montgomery County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Iva Dougherty of the Attorney General’s Drug Strike Force Section. The defendants will be preliminarily arraigned before Lafayette Hill Magisterial District Justice Deborah Lukens.
Below is a full list of the defendants and the charges against them:
— Zakia “Pye” Clark, 36, 3022 W. Diamond Street, 1st Floor, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of possession of cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Shannon “Whoopie” McKeiver, 32, 4412 N. 19th Street, Philadelphia, is charged with 15 counts of possession of cocaine, 15 counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, three counts of forgery, two counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of corrupt organizations, two counts of unsworn falsification to authorities, two counts of tampering with public records or information, one count of possessing instruments of a crime, one count of persons not to possess firearms, one count of criminal solicitation, one count of criminal attempt, one count of criminal use of a communications facility, one count of tampering with records or identification and one count of identity theft.
— Preston “PR” Suttles, 36, 554 Anchor Street, Philadelphia, is charged with seven counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, seven counts of possession of cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and one count of criminal conspiracy.
— Kevin Jordan, 32, 105 Community Drive, Lansdale, is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, two counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count of possession of cocaine, one count of criminal solicitation, one count of criminal attempt, one count of possessing instruments of crime, one count of persons not to possess firearms and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Derrick “Ed” Thompson, 24, Unknown address, is charged with two counts of possession with the attempt to deliver cocaine, two counts delivery of cocaine, two counts of corrupt organization, two counts of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal attempt.
— Tawanda Brookins, 34, 4412 N. 19th Street, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts possession of cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
–Demetrius “Demo” Hayes, 31, 13020 Townsend Road, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of possession of cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of criminal attempt and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Tyrone “Chuck” Singleton, 32, 6160 Walton Avenue, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of possession of cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of criminal attempt and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Gregory “Face” Morton, 34, 632 Adams Avenue, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of possession of cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Mark “Diego” Carr, 43, 2638 N. 30th Street, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of possession of cocaine, two counts of possession of cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Eurika Wright, 36, 2911 W. Gordon Street, Philadelphia, is charged with nine counts of possession of cocaine, nine counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count criminal use of a communications facility.
— Janet Washington, 39, 1606 Mt. Vernon Street, Apt-A, Philadelphia, is charged with three counts of possession of cocaine, three counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Keith Dingle, 47, 40 Popular Street, Wilkes Barre, is charged with three counts of possession of cocaine, three counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Victor Holloway, 57, 23 S. Wells Avenue, Wilkes Barre, is charged with three counts of possession of cocaine, three counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations and one count of criminal conspiracy.
— Latanya “T” Dickson, 34, 554 Anchor Street, Philadelphia, is charged with three counts of possession of cocaine, three counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Eric Murphy, 41, 10671 SW cam Run, Port St Lucie, Florida, is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Jerome “Mont/Moot/Moe/Rome” Hall, 26, 5500 Wissahickon Ave., Apt-M401-A, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of possession of cocaine, two counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Isaiah “Zay” Nathaniel, 25, 246 W. Upsal Street, Philadelphia, is charged with three counts of possession of cocaine, three counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Darryl “Heavy” Parker, 34, 2821 W. Huntington Street, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of possession of cocaine, two counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Kailief Smith, 34, 5114 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, is charged with four counts of possession of cocaine, four counts of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Jalonda Sharp, 26, 5500 Wissahickon Ave., Apt-M401-A, Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
— Brendan Gray, 31, 228 W. 5th Street, Conshohocken, is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of possession of cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.