NORRISTOWN >> A Philadelphia man is headed to state prison after admitting he was involved in a corrupt organization that trafficked heroin, some branded “Certain Death,” and crack cocaine in Montgomery and Berks counties.
Ryan Richard “JR” Conquest, 26, of the 200 block of East Montana Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Friday to 2 1/2 to five years in a state correctional facility and 10 years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of corrupt organizations, possession with intent to deliver heroin or cocaine and conspiracy of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances in connection with incidents that occurred between January and August 2015.
Senior Judge S. Gerald Corso imposed the sentence as part of a plea agreement recommended by Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lloyd and Conquest’s lawyer, Jon D. Fox.
Conquest was one of five men arrested last October when authorities from Montgomery and Berks counties crushed the drug operation.
Conquest’s admission came one day after Tyrek “B Hop” Waples, 20, of the 200 block of West Tabor Avenue, Philadelphia, was sentenced to nine to 23 months in the county jail and three years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to possess heroin with intent to deliver in connection with the drug operation. As part of his plea agreement, a charge of corrupt organizations was dismissed against Waples, who was described in court papers as a “sub-dealer” in the organization.
The drug organization was dismantled with information provided by a Pottstown man whose son died from a heroin overdose. The father’s information helped lead authorities to the alleged ringleader of the drug operation, Tyrig Darnell “Foota” Coleman.
Coleman, 26, of the 2100 block of Buchert Road, Lower Pottsgrove, remains in jail while awaiting trial on corrupt organizations and numerous drug-related charges.
Two other men, Martez Eric “Moo” Cooper, 23, of the 300 block of North York Street, Pottstown, and Khaleaf Quinton”Leaf” Lindsay, 19, of Philadelphia, also are awaiting trial on corrupt organizations and numerous drug- and conspiracy-related charges.
When authorities announced the arrests at borough hall last October they displayed more than 1,000 packets of heroin and cocaine, with a street value of about $10,000, several handguns, ammunition and $5,419 cash. Some of the heroin packets were labeled “Certain Death.”
“This is so insidious,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at the time. “This is the epidemic that we are facing in our communities all across Montgomery County, all across the state… lives being destroyed every day because of the greed of these drug dealers.”
The dealers worked out of motel rooms they rented in Pottstown and Lower Pottsgrove in Montgomery County and in Amity Township in Berks, according to court papers. The defendants engaged in mass-group text messages to potential buyers revealing the types, stamps and locations where heroin and cocaine could be purchased, prosecutors alleged, adding the addicts would line up at the motels to purchase the drugs.
The alleged dealers sold heroin and cocaine to about 66 addicts in the Pottstown region who were getting the text messages, according to authorities.
In April 2014, Pottstown police investigated the heroin overdose death of a 22-year-old man in the Rosedale section of the borough. The victim’s father contacted borough police in June 2015 explaining he had recently activated his dead son’s cell phone and discovered text messages that he believed came from drug dealers, according to court papers.
“The victim’s father provided information to law enforcement in an attempt to better his community and prevent future drug overdose deaths,” detectives wrote in the criminal complaint.
Investigators linked one of the text messages, discussing heroin available for purchase at a local motel room, to Coleman’s phone, which he allegedly used to communicate with drug customers.
The undercover investigation included law enforcement officers from Montgomery and Berks counties and the district attorney’s Narcotics Enforcement Team.