Almost immediately upon walking into the courtroom and seeing his family, Thomas C. Thomas Jr. started to cry.

Handcuffed and sitting in front of two U.S. marshals yesterday, Mr. Thomas, 32, could do nothing but look at his 1-year-old daughter, who sat just 15 feet away.

His lawyer argued to Magistrate Judge Cathy Bissoon that his client was attending classes at a Downtown business school, had previously gone to rehabilitation for drug and alcohol problems, and suffers from a litany of medical problems, including epilepsy and diabetes.

In the end, none of that mattered. Judge Bissoon ordered Mr. Thomas, one of 35 people named in a 27-count federal indictment, to remain incarcerated while awaiting trial. The judge held several other detention hearings yesterday in the case.

On Wednesday, FBI Special Agent Samuel Hicks was killed as he entered one of the suspects' homes during a series of simultaneous raids.

A team of law enforcement officers broke down the door at the home of Robert Ralph Korbe in Indiana Township. The suspect's wife, Christina Korbe, allegedly fired one shot down the stairs, hitting Agent Hicks.

She has claimed in interviews with police that she believed someone was breaking into her home and that she was trying to protect herself and her children.

She is charged with homicide in state court.

Ms. Korbe was not named as a defendant in the drug case.

Her husband is charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of crack, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. His detention hearing was postponed until tomorrow so he could hire a new attorney.

The investigation began in October 2007 and involved the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Pittsburgh police and the Allegheny County district attorney's office.

Three central figures in the drug ring were arrested based on a criminal complaint filed in federal court Sept. 19.

Anthony Terry, 24, of Gearing Avenue, Beltzhoover; Jamill Denson, 36, of Estella Avenue, Beltzhoover; and Victor Nelson, 40, of Taft Avenue, Beltzhoover, were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Mr. Terry also was charged with conspiracy to commit prescription fraud.

He and another defendant, Nicholas A. Mihelcic, 24, of Kenilworth Street, Brookline, were believed to be leaders of the organization.

The case was built on wiretaps of five cellular phones, along with a number of controlled drug buys, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti.

The ring operated primarily in Brookline, Mount Washington and Beltzhoover, and 10 to 20 kilograms of cocaine were brought in from Mexico every two to four weeks, Mr. Rivetti said.

On Sept. 18, agents anticipated that a large, multi-kilogram shipment was about to arrive, and they arrested Mr. Terry, Mr. Nelson and Mr. Denson.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, Mr. Terry admitted his involvement and then directed agents to what he called a stash house on Estella Avenue. There, officers found more than $130,000 in cash, drug paraphernalia, scales, a firearm and ammunition, two bulletproof vests and cocaine.

Mr. Thomas, of 45th Street, Lawrenceville, was charged in one count of the indictment, conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

According to Mr. Rivetti, he was intercepted several times on wiretaps, and on May 28, talked to Mr. Mihelcic about multiple ounces of cocaine.

"It was clear they could look to each other for large quantities of cocaine," Mr. Rivetti said.

William Kaczynski, Mr. Thomas' attorney, said his client was nothing more than a "low-level operative" and that his role in the ring was "ambiguous."

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Thomas had been attending daily Narcotics Anonymous meetings and business classes four days a week. He was living with his wife and two children, ages 1 and 7, and a stepson, who is 15.

At one point during the hearing, when the 1-year-old saw her father, she said, "dada."

Mr. Kaczynski argued that Mr. Thomas was not a danger to the community and asked that he be placed in a 28-day inpatient treatment program and then released to his home.

Mr. Rivetti said that Mr. Thomas is not employed and is a chronic drug abuser. He also has an aggravated assault conviction, and while out on bond in that case was charged with resisting arrest.

Mr. Kaczynski countered that the aggravated assault arrest was in 1998 and the last offense for which Mr. Thomas was convicted was in 2003.