Barbershop Drug Ring Dealer Sentenced to Prison

One of the men who dealt drugs out of the Heads Up Barbership in Tredyffrin was sentenced this week to 18 to 36 years in prison, according to multiple reports.

Wayne resident Michael Dennis, 36, who was convicted in January of helping his brother run a large cocaine distribution system for years, received his sentence Monday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The drug operation that Dennis and his brother, Anthony, 41, ran out of a barbershop on Upper Gulph Road had customers in Montgomery and Chester Counties and Philadelphia, said Assistant District Attorney Jason Whalley.

Whalley called the brothers "major dealers for Southeastern Pennsylvania."

Anthony Dennis pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, according to the Inquirer. A third defendant, Oliver Ray Darden, confessed and received a sentence of three to 10 years in prison, according to Main Line Media News.

The massive criminal enterprise was brought down by similarly large-scale network of Chester County, Montgomery County, state and federal law enforcement agencies:

Referred to as the Dennis Drug Trafficking Organization, the group, operating in part from Tredyffrin, reportedly supplied cocaine to James "Twin" Adams in Norristown. Following Super Court approval of wire taps on the Dennis brothers and Adams' phones, officials monitored the trio's phones from April 13, 2011, to May 18, 2011.

Utilizing information learned from the wiretaps, officials arrested Anthony Dennis outside the Target on City Avenue in Philadelphia after he police say he purchased 9 ounces of cocaine from Samuel Marshall, his reported drug source. Officials seized $9,200 in cash, the cocaine, Dennis' vehicle and their cellphones.

On May 18, 2011, authorities also raided the barbershop in Wayne, seizing:

• Approximately 4 pounds of cocaine valued at $204,800;
• 6.5 pounds of cutting agents; 
• 10 digital scales; 
• 14 vehicles; 
• A 19-foot Pro Line fishing Boat from a storage facility in Collegeville;
• $76,308 cash; 
• 12 firearms; and
• Ballistic vests. 

See also:

Heads Up Closes Down

Bail Reduced for One of the Heads Up Drug Suspects

Heads Up Suspects All Waive Preliminary Hearings

Police Chief: Tredyffrin Much Safer After Bust at Barber Shop

Tredyffrin Barber Indicted In Cocaine Bust