PHILADELPHIA NEWS
January 9, 2013
Contact: Public Information Officer
215-861-3436
Former Police Detective and His Wife Sentenced in Drug Conspiracy
JAN 09 (PITTSBURGH)  -Three residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have been sentenced in federal court on their convictions of violating federal narcotics trafficking and firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today. Senior United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose sentenced Gary Moorefield, 45, of 10434 Lindberg Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to 300 months (25 years) imprisonment followed by five years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws; Dequillarae Zellous, 39, of 3441 West Prospect Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to 120 months (10 years) imprisonment followed by eight years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics trafficking laws; and David Michael Jones, 31, of 2134 Village Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to 120 months (10 years) imprisonment followed by eight years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics trafficking laws.
Moorefield, Zellous and Jones pleaded guilty on September 7, 2012, several days into theiranticipated lengthy trial. The investigation resulted in the prosecution of 10 individuals chargedwith conspiring to distribute large quantities of heroin. According to information presented to thecourt, the investigation culminated in wiretaps on two cell phones utilized by Gary Moorefield. Thewiretaps, conducted from the end of July 2010 through mid-September 2010, confirmed thatMoorefield obtained kilogram quantities of heroin from a supplier in the New York/New Jersey areaapproximately 1-2 times per week with the assistance of a courier. Moorefield wouldsupply his courier with large sums of U.S. currency (often in excess of $100,000 per trip), and thecourier would travel to Newark, New Jersey and/or New York City to obtain the heroin from thesupplier.
The courier would then drive back to the Pittsburgh area and deliver the large quantities ofheroin directly to Moorefield at either Moorefields residence at 10434 Lindberg Avenue locatedin Penn Hills, PA, or at his penthouse apartment located at the Racquet Club Apartments, 100Oxford Drive, Monroeville, PA.
After receiving the heroin from his courier, Moorefield would contact his primary drugdistributors, including Dequillarae Zellous and David Michael Jones, and arrange to meet thedistributors to supply them with large quantities of heroin. On August 11, 2010, federal agents (working in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police) seized $103,000 in U.S. currency from Moorefields courier who was en route to meet with the heroin source in the New York/New Jersey area.
On September 17, 2010, federal agents in New Jersey seized a bag containing $89,000 inU.S. currency that Moorefield personally delivered to the heroin source in New York City shortlybefore the seizure. On September 23, 2010, federal agents executed a search warrant at Moorefields residence at 10434 Lindberg Avenue. Inside the residence agents discovered approximately $72,000 in U.S. currency, a bulletproof vest, and four loaded firearms.
Additionally, trial testimony revealed that on August 29, 2009, officers with the WilkinsburgPolice Department responded to a reported burglary in progress at 1309 Everett Street, Wilkinsburg,PA. Once inside, officers observed an assault rifle and various other items of contraband in theransacked home, including numerous glassine packets (a/k/a stamp bags) commonly used topackage heroin for distribution. A subsequent search of the residence resulted in the seizure of morethan 616 grams of heroin, a pistol, a sawed-off shotgun, two assault rifles, approximately 25,000empty stamp bags, and other heroin packaging material (e.g., digital scales used to weigh illegaldrugs, as well as rubber ink stamps and ink pads used to stamp the stamp bags with a name or logoidentifying a particular batch of heroin). Testimony revealed that the residence was used as a "stashhouse" by Moorefield, and that between $500,000 to $1 million in drug proceeds was stolen from the residence during the burglary.
Assistant United States Attorneys Charles A. Eberle and Troy Rivetti prosecuted this caseon behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the federally administered Organized Crime and DrugEnforcement Task Force (OCDETF) for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution ofMoorefield, Zellous and Jones. The task force was headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) and was comprised of members drawn from the Baldwin Borough Police, the AlleghenyCounty Sheriff's Office, the Munhall Police, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Pennsylvania StatePolice, the Duquesne Police, the West Homestead Police, the Allegheny County Police, and theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Assistance in the investigation wasprovided by the Penn Hills Police, the Monroeville Police, the McKees Rocks Police, and theWilkinsburg Police Department.