DEALER SHOT DEAD Page 3
DEFENDANT COOPERATING WITH LAWMEN SLAIN HOURS AFTER GUILTY PLEA
PHILADELPHIA » Police are investigating the Monday afternoon murder of a Brookhaven man who had received a probationary sentence just one hour earlier in Delaware County for his role in a highly publicized cocaine trafficking ring based out of the Ruth L. Bennett Homes in Chester.
Antonio “Anthony” Reaves, 41, of the 4000 block of Woodworth Road, was gunned down outside an apartment complex on the 7900 block of Lindbergh Boulevard in Southwest Philadelphia at about 2:55 p.m., according to police.
Responding officers found Reaves suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 3:39 p.m., according to a release from the Philadelphia Police Department. Reaves had entered his plea about 1:35 p.m.
Reaves was one of 15 people charged in April 2016 as part of “Operation Bennett Trifecta,” a coordinated takedown of drug traffickers working out of the Ruth L. Bennett Homes in Chester organized by Pennsylvania State Police Troop K, the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division and the Chester Police Department with assistance from the Pennsylvania Attorney General and Delaware State Police.
The operation began in early 2015, when law enforcement uncovered the identities and locations of those involved in a trafficking operation that extended throughout southeast Pennsylvania and into the state of Delaware, according to a release issued after an early-morning roundup of most of the suspects on April 22, 2016.
Reaves’ codefendants were Cheron Jackson, 35; Darrell Burton, 42; Lafenus Burton, 44; Byron Parker, 41; Chris Jones, 44; Louis Freeman, 46; Tyrone Pringle, 29; Kemp Hill, 28; Ronald Smith 41 b ; Wilbert Jones, 62, and the alleged ringleader, 38-year-old James Townsend, all of Chester. David Toney, 45, who has addresses in Philadelphia and Delaware, was also charged. All but Darrell Burton and Chris Jones have posted bail, according to online court records.
Reaves pleaded guilty before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge James Nilon to one count each of corrupt organizations, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy, all felonies. He received an eight-year probationary sentence under the plea deal worked out by Senior Deputy Attorney General Paul Reddell and defense attorney Leno Phillip Thomas.
Reddell noted at Monday’s hearing that Reaves had received death threats and there was a question of whether he should be coming to Delaware County to deal with probation, where he was likely to run into trouble.
The judge agreed to sentence Reaves under a special state probation. He noted the probationary sentence was “well under” the guidelines and that Reaves could have faced up to 40 years in prison if convicted at trial. Reddell also asked that the record be sealed, including some discussions about the plea that had taken place in chambers.
Joe Grace, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, said he could not comment on the ongoing murder investigation, but confirmed Reaves was a cooperating defendant in the Operation Bennett Trifecta case.
“Reaves was not, however, a testifying witness and his cooperation was long since complete,” Grace said in a statement. “The fact of his cooperation was disclosed in 2016 after motions were filed and litigated in Delaware County Court. Prior to the disclosure of his identity, Reaves was offered relocation and declined. Relocation was re-offered prior to his guilty plea and similarly declined.”
Grace stressed that the Attorney General’s office is committed to the safety of anyone cooperating with law enforcement and said it is “critically important” that those people be afforded appropriate protection at all times.
In addition to the Operation Bennett Trifecta sweep, Reaves might have been involved in a separate drug case out of Chester being prosecuted by the Delaware County District Attorney’s office, but his connection that case could not be confirmed.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said Thursday that he would never confirm whether or not an individual was cooperating, regardless of whether they are now deceased. He did say Reaves was not on the prosecution’s witness list in that case, however.
A Philadelphia police spokesperson said there were no new details to report on the homicide investigation as of Thursday. He said he could not comment on Reaves’ involvement in any other cases because it is an open investigation.
One other defendant in the Operation Bennett Trifecta case, Kemp Hill, also pleaded guilty Monday to possession with intent to deliver and was sentenced to time served to 23 months with one year of probation.
Pringle was convicted on one count of possessing a controlled substance following a non-jury trial in April before Nilon. He was sentenced to 23 months with immediate parole and one year of probation, according to online records.
Attorneys representing most of the other defendants were called before Nilon for a status hearing Monday to work out how the multi-defendant trial set for Aug. 29 would proceed.