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Wilkinsburg heroin dealer caught with armor and weapons stash sentenced
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A Wilkinsburg drug dealer caught with an arsenal and body armor in a 2010 bust was sentenced today to 25 years in prison.
The sentence for Gary Moorefield was negotiated between the prosecution and defense and approved today by U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose.
She is also sentencing today two of Moorefield's nine accused co-conspirators, David Michael Jones, 31, of Wilkinsburg, and Dequillarae Zellous, 40, of Fairywood.
Mr. Moorefield, 45, was the ringleader of the group and was indicted for conspiracy to sell heroin, maintaining a drug-involved home, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug dealing, possession of firearms in spite of past felony convictions and possession of body armor.
"This operation involved hundreds of thousands of dollars of proceeds," Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles A. Eberle said, including money seized in Moorefield's "stash house."
"That wasn't my stash house down in Wilkinsburg," Moorefield protested, but he said he would save the details for his appeal.
His guns, according to the indictment, included a 12-gauge Valiant shotgun with a sawed-off barrel, Norinco and Romarm rifles and six pistols.
The investigation that led to the charges was headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and included members drawn from several local police departments and the Pennsylvania State Police.
That team in November got Law Enforcement Agency Directors awards for their work on the case.
First Published January 9, 2013 10:32 am
