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NORRISTOWN — A Delaware County man who admitted to his role as a “high-ranking” member of a crystal methamphetamine trafficking organization that put hundreds of pounds of the addictive drug on the streets of Montgomery County and surrounding areas will spend up to two decades in prison.
Tyrone P. Baker, 31, of the unit block of Melrose Avenue, East Lansdowne, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 10 to 20 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of corrupt organizations, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and conspiracy in connection with the drug trafficking organization that flooded Southeastern Pennsylvania and beyond with methamphetamine, which was shipped from Los Angeles to the leaders of the group in the Philadelphia suburbs between 2019 and 2022.
Specifically, Baker admitted to being involved in the shipment of more than 1,000 grams of methamphetamine.
“Tyrone Baker was a high-ranking member of this organization. He was at the very top, just under the California-based supplier,” said Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Hughes, who sought a lengthy prison term against Baker. “He’s one of the most culpable members of this organization.”
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Baker travelled to California for purposes of arranging for shipments of methamphetamine and would directly receive large quantities of methamphetamine through the mail. Baker would then distribute the methamphetamine to other sub-dealers in the region.
“He pled to multiple instances of receiving those packages with pounds of meth that were for sale here,” Hughes alleged. “He’s the reason the drugs were getting here. He was the one who was making arrangements, sending the money to California, going out to California, making sure those pound quantities got back here. There were investigations where some of those packages were seized.”
The sentence was imposed by Judge Virgil B. Walker.
Defense lawyer Laurie Robin Jubelirer represented Baker during the court proceedings.
Baker was among numerous individuals arrested in connection with the drug ring in March 2022 and is the latest in a string of defendants who pleaded guilty to charges related to their various roles in the organization.
The man prosecutors identified as the California source of the crystal methamphetamine, Ricky R. Evans, 29, of Los Angeles, previously was sentenced to 8½ to 17 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and conspiracy.
With the charges, prosecutors said Evans trafficked 200 pounds of methamphetamine to the county, of which 60 pounds was seized by investigators. In court papers, prosecutors alleged the investigation revealed Evans received more than $86,000 from people in the organization in exchange for methamphetamine and he shipped dozens of pounds of the dangerous drug for the purpose of distribution.
Detectives estimated that one pound of methamphetamine can be broken down into 1,000 doses to be sold on the street.
Authorities said methamphetamine is a strong and highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system and can cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure and damage to small blood vessels in the brain. The drug is commonly abused because of the long-lasting euphoric effects it produces on the human body, according to authorities.
Last July, Richard E. “Rambo” Quarles Jr., 25, of Pennsgrove Street in Philadelphia, who prosecutors described as a “middleman” for the drug trafficking organization, was sentenced to 3 to 6 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to corrupt organizations and related charges.
The investigation began with the arrest of an Upper Darby man in March 2021 after he allegedly sold more than two pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover officer in Lower Merion Township. Law enforcement learned the man was part of a large-scale methamphetamine drug trafficking organization that supplied not only Montgomery County and the Philadelphia area, but also reached into New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia.
The investigation revealed those connected to the drug trafficking organization were acquiring large quantities of methamphetamine from supplier Evans in Los Angeles. The drugs were shipped by Evans to the defendants and others involved in the conspiracy, via the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS from different post office locations, UPS Stores and other shipping stores, detectives alleged.
At the time of the arrests, investigators alleged the drug trafficking organization was believed to have been responsible for the distribution of approximately 800 pounds of crystal methamphetamine between 2019 and 2022, as well as the trafficking of other illegal drugs, including fentanyl and oxycodone.
The total 83 pounds of crystal methamphetamine that was seized during the investigation, if sold as single doses on the street, was worth between $2.6 million and $3.7 million, detectives alleged. The investigation involved interviews, the strategic use of confidential informants, controlled drug buys, physical surveillance, search warrants, electronic surveillance, GPS tracking, cellphone data analysis and court ordered wiretaps.
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