UPDATE @ 9:13 a.m. (Nov. 9):
Phillip Davis, the alleged leader of the Marlena Park Gang, is scheduled for sentencing today in connection to a regional drug network alleged to have engaged in heroin and methamphetamine trafficking.
Davis, 32, of Fairborn, will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. in Clinton County court for 23 counts of trafficking in cocaine, one count of aggravated trafficking in cocaine, one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and one count of illegal manufacturing of drugs, according to court documents.
He was found guilty of the counts of Nov. 6.
INITIAL REPORT:
A Fairborn man was the reputed head of the Marlena Park Gang, a regional drug network alleged to have engaged in heroin and methamphetamine trafficking, as well as welfare fraud, from Dayton to Wilmington.
Phillip Davis, 32, of Fairborn, was among 72 suspects charged in a year-long investigation centered in Wilmington but stretching across Montgomery, Clinton and Greene counties, according to authorities.
“This was pretty massive, all the way from Dayton to Wilmington,” Commander John Burke of the Warren County Drug Task Force said Friday during a press conference in Lebanon.
Burke, a veteran of about 30 years investigating drug cases in the Dayton-Cincinnati region, said it was among the biggest cases he had ever worked, in terms of the number of charged suspects.
Authorities said they were holding about 40 of the 72 charged, but still looking for more than 30, including Joshua Payne and Miles Garner, both of Dayton.
“During the last year, Wilmington Police Department and The Greater Warren County Drug Task Force has conducted several drug buys that started in the Wilmington area and led to Dayton,” according a press release.
Much of the heroin seized “was coming out of Montgomery County,” Wilmington Police Chief Duane Weyand said at the press conference. “They could end up anywhere.”
In addition to Davis and his wife, Josephine, two other Greene County residents, Jahad Abdul Hakim and Trent Swift, of Xenia, are charged in the case.
Terrell Smith of Trotwood and Christina Hurn of Springfield were also in custody, according to authorities.
Authorities said 47 suspects face felony charges, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in cocaine, aggravated trafficking in drugs and illegal manufacture of drugs, while 25 are charged with misdemeanor possession.
“It’s a combination of both users and sellers,” Weyand said.
The investigation also uncovered alleged welfare fraud in which food stamps were sold for 50 cents on the dollar for drugs, Weyand said.
The case began about a year ago in Wilmington, the county seat of Clinton County, and most of the suspects are from there or other areas of Clinton County.
“Wilmington itself is fighting the heroin epidemic as much as any community,” Weyand said, estimating the number charged is more than three times any previous local case.
For assistance, Wilmington police turned first to the Warren County Drug Task Force, which has collaborated with Clinton County law enforcement for more than a decade.
Ultimately, the case involved the ACE Drug Task Force in Greene County, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, Dayton Safe Streets Task Force,the Ohio Highway Patrol and Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and DEA agents from Dayton and FBI agents from Cincinnati and Dayton.
The gang took its name from a park in Wilmington, where Davis grew up, according to authorities. Southeast Park is at the intersection of Marlena Drive and South Wall Street, according to the Wilmington Parks and Recreation Department.
In addition to heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and marijuana, unspecified amounts of money and weapons were seized, authorities said.
Local police called for outside assistance after realizing the city “experienced an explosion of heroin use. Our area experienced a 632 percent increase in overdose related calls for service over the last 18 months,” according to a press release.
“Targets of our investigation bragged about the quality of the heroin and admitted it has killed people,” Weyand said Friday. “A lot of people were very thankful” for the arrests.
The felony charges were issued in secret indictments Monday, according to authorities. However, Clinton County court officials declined to release the indictments or information on the cases Friday.
“There will be more charges in the future,” Weyand said, urging those on the loose to surrender.
“Turn yourself in or someone is going to turn you in,” he said.
A Fairborn man was the reputed head of the Marlena Park Gang, a regional drug network alleged to have engaged in heroin and methamphetamine trafficking, as well as welfare fraud, from Dayton to Wilmington.
Phillip Davis, 32, of Fairborn, was among 72 suspects charged in a year-long investigation centered in Wilmington but stretching across Montgomery, Clinton and Greene counties, according to authorities.
“This was pretty massive, all the way from Dayton to Wilmington,” Commander John Burke of the Warren County Drug Task Force said Friday during a press conference in Lebanon.
Burke, a veteran of about 30 years investigating drug cases in the Dayton-Cincinnati region, said it was among the biggest cases he had ever worked, in terms of the number of charged suspects.
Authorities said they were holding about 40 of the 72 charged, but still looking for more than 30, including Joshua Payne and Miles Garner, both of Dayton.
“During the last year, Wilmington Police Department and The Greater Warren County Drug Task Force has conducted several drug buys that started in the Wilmington area and led to Dayton,” according a press release.
Much of the heroin seized “was coming out of Montgomery County,” Wilmington Police Chief Duane Weyand said at the press conference. “They could end up anywhere.”
In addition to Davis and his wife, Josephine, two other Greene County residents, Jahad Abdul Hakim and Trent Swift, of Xenia, are charged in the case.
Terrell Smith of Trotwood and Christina Hurn of Springfield were also in custody, according to authorities.
Authorities said 47 suspects face felony charges, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in cocaine, aggravated trafficking in drugs and illegal manufacture of drugs, while 25 are charged with misdemeanor possession.
“It’s a combination of both users and sellers,” Weyand said.
The investigation also uncovered alleged welfare fraud in which food stamps were sold for 50 cents on the dollar for drugs, Weyand said.
The case began about a year ago in Wilmington, the county seat of Clinton County, and most of the suspects are from there or other areas of Clinton County.
“Wilmington itself is fighting the heroin epidemic as much as any community,” Weyand said, estimating the number charged is more than three times any previous local case.
For assistance, Wilmington police turned first to the Warren County Drug Task Force, which has collaborated with Clinton County law enforcement for more than a decade.
Ultimately, the case involved the ACE Drug Task Force in Greene County, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, Dayton Safe Streets Task Force,the Ohio Highway Patrol and Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and DEA agents from Dayton and FBI agents from Cincinnati and Dayton.
The gang took its name from a park in Wilmington, where Davis grew up, according to authorities. Southeast Park is at the intersection of Marlena Drive and South Wall Street, according to the Wilmington Parks and Recreation Department.
In addition to heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and marijuana, unspecified amounts of money and weapons were seized, authorities said.
Local police called for outside assistance after realizing the city “experienced an explosion of heroin use. Our area experienced a 632 percent increase in overdose related calls for service over the last 18 months,” according to a press release.
“Targets of our investigation bragged about the quality of the heroin and admitted it has killed people,” Weyand said Friday. “A lot of people were very thankful” for the arrests.
The felony charges were issued in secret indictments Monday, according to authorities. However, Clinton County court officials declined to release the indictments or information on the cases Friday.
“There will be more charges in the future,” Weyand said, urging those on the loose to surrender.
“Turn yourself in or someone is going to turn you in,” he said.
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