CLEARFIELD – A former New York man will spend time in state prison for his involvement with a crack cocaine drug ring in Clearfield.
Robert Aron Rodriguez, 33, pleaded guilty Monday during colloquy court to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance-cocaine and possession of a controlled substance-cocaine before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman. Rodriguez was sentenced to 27 months to 54 months in state prison.
Prior to sentencing, he apologized for his actions and stated he was “growing up now.” He admitted in the past, he has made a lot of mistakes.
Rodriguez was sharing an apartment with Luther Ware on Turnpike Avenue in Clearfield where they were selling drugs, according to previous reports.
Ware of Bronx, NY, was the “principle person” behind the dealing of crack cocaine in Clearfield County for a few years, Ammerman noted prior to Ware’s sentencing in August of 2015. He is serving 11 to 25 years in state prison.
According to testimony in his trial, Ware recruited another man to travel back and forth from New York with the drugs. He said they would transport $5,000 to $10,000 of crack cocaine at a time.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the Rodriguez case, a confidential informant was able to make two controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Rodriguez at the Turnpike Avenue location in September of 2014. Lab tests revealed the first substance purchased was 0.09 grams of cocaine and the second was 0.12 grams of cocaine.
Rodriguez was arrested as part of “Operation Leaf Rake,” an ongoing cooperative drug investigation coordinated by the Clearfield County District Attorney’s office and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, that focuses on street and mid-level drug dealers. In all 15 people were arrested as part of this investigation.
