Police: Dealer took child along during drug sale

NORRISTOWN » The next stop is prison for a man who conducted a drug deal involving the deadly substance fentanyl in Whitemarsh while his 4-year-old child was in his vehicle.

Charles Ben Campbell, 28, who listed an address along Markland Street in Philadelphia, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 18 months to three years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with incidents that occurred between September and October 2017 in Whitemarsh.

Judge Richard P. Haaz, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, ordered Campbell to report to state prison officials on July 30 to begin serving the sentence.

The judge said Campbell is eligible for the state Department of Corrections’ Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive program. The program, commonly referred to as “Triple R-I,” allows eligible non-violent offenders to receive reductions of their minimum prison sentences if they successfully complete all required treatment and maintain good-conduct records in prison. Prisoners can be released upon completing the program only if officials are satisfied that the offenders pose no risks to public safety.

Campbell could be released from prison after serving 13 months and 15 days of his minimum sentence if he successfully completes the RRRI program, according to sentencing documents.

The judge said Campbell also is eligible for the state’s Quehanna Boot Camp, a military-style, motivational and disciplinary program located in Clearfield County.

An investigation of Campbell began in September 2017 when state police at Philadelphia learned from an informant that Campbell was selling heroin. An undercover trooper, posing as a buyer, began having drug-related conversations with Campbell during which Campbell revealed he had heroin and the more potent and deadly fentanyl.

The undercover trooper arranged to purchase 10 grams of fentanyl on Sept. 20 and the transaction occurred on a parking lot in the 500 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Whitemarsh near Fort Washington, according to the criminal complaint.

Campbell, who sold the fentanyl to the undercover trooper in exchange for $700, told the trooper to tell his “people” it’s very strong and to be careful with it, according to the arrest affidavit. Tests on the substance determined it was fentanyl, police said.

The undercover trooper contacted Campbell again in October and at that time Campbell agreed to sell the trooper 30 grams of fentanyl at $59 a gram, according to court documents. A meeting was arranged for Oct. 4, again at the parking lot on Pennsylvania Avenue in Whitemarsh.

During that transaction, Campbell got into the passenger side of the undercover trooper’s vehicle and handed the trooper a clear bag containing fentanyl in exchange for $1,740, according to the criminal complaint.

“Campbell asked me if I sell the fentanyl straight out of the bag or if I repackage it. I told him I repack it into smaller bags,” the trooper wrote in the arrest affidavit. “Campbell told me to put it in coffee grinder before rebagging it to make sure it was evenly distributed.”

Campbell then entered his Dodge Caravan and left the area traveling south on Route 309. Other troopers then initiated a traffic stop of Campbell’s vehicle just south of the Flourtown exit on Route 309 and recovered the $1,740 in “buy money.”

“Troopers also discovered a 4-year-old female child in the rear of the van. The child was identified as Campbell’s daughter,” the undercover trooper wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Authorities said fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is commonly used and mixed with street-sold heroin because it amplifies the potency of the heroin. Prosecutors have said fentanyl is 40 to 50 times more deadly than street-level heroin and is dangerous to the touch.

Under state law, by pleading guilty to the charge of endangering the welfare of a child, Campbell admitted that while being the parent or guardian of a child he knowingly violated a duty of care, protection and support.