NORRISTOWN — A Pottstown man will be under court supervision for several years after he admitted to his role in a methamphetamine trafficking organization in the Pottstown region.
Robert Levengood, 44, of the 500 block of West High Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 330 days already served to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of corrupt organizations, conspiracy and possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine in connection with incidents that occurred between May and October 2019.
Judge Thomas C. Branca also ordered Levengood to complete five years’ probation following parole, meaning Levengood will be under court supervision for seven years. Levengood, who listed a previous address in the 1000 block of North Warren Street, will be placed under substance use disorder supervision during the parole and probationary periods, according to the sentence.
Levengood was among more than a dozen people charged in 2019 in connection with the drug trafficking network. Many of the others previously were sentenced on various drug-related charges.
“This investigation revealed that the targets of this investigation conspired to sell controlled substances, primarily methamphetamine, in the Pottstown area…,” county detectives and Pottstown police wrote in the arrest affidavit.
The main targets utilized the U.S. Postal Service, “as well as other clandestine methods,” to acquire controlled substances for re-sale from “one of their sources of drug supply” in Long Beach, Calif., “namely Newstell Marable Jr.,” detectives alleged.
“The main targets of this investigation flooded Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with vast amounts of methamphetamine by employing a network of sub-dealers who assisted them in distributing methamphetamine to lower-level traffickers and ultimately the end-user of the drug,” detectives continued.
Detectives said methamphetamine is a strong and highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system and can cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure and damage to small blood vessels in the brain. The drug is commonly abused because of the long-lasting “euphoric effects it produces on the human body,” detectives explained in court papers.
“This investigation also revealed that Robert Levengood, a methamphetamine trafficker, utilized multiple cellular phones or communication platforms to facilitate, and ultimately operate, his drug trafficking activities,” detectives wrote in the criminal complaint.
The six month investigation involved interviews, the strategic use of confidential informants, controlled drug buys, human surveillance, electronic surveillance, GPS tracking, cellphone data analysis, a review of the targets’ social media accounts and search warrants, according to court papers.
Marable, 64, formerly of the 2500 block of Perkiomen Avenue, Mount Penn, Berks County, and most recently of Long Beach, Calif., previously pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, possession with intent to deliver marijuana or methamphetamine, conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with the drug organization.
Marable, who formerly resided in Douglass (Berks), previously received a time served sentence of 456 days to 23 months in jail, to be followed by three years’ probation, according to court records.
Detectives alleged Marable was captured by video surveillance at post offices in Long Beach sending parcels to multiple addresses in and around Montgomery County. Some of the parcels containing controlled substances were mailed to residences on Spruce, West Third and Lemon streets in Pottstown, according to court documents.
Marable, detectives alleged, utilized his cellphone to communicate with his co-conspirators to facilitate his role in the drug trafficking enterprise.
During a search of Marable’s Long Beach residence on Sept. 30, 2019, detectives seized about 4.8 pounds of marijuana in a bedroom closet, according to the criminal complaint.
Court documents indicate other searches occurred at residences in Pottstown and Franconia Township.
The investigation resulted in the seizure of more than five pounds of methamphetamine, more than five pounds of marijuana, three handguns and approximately $15,000 in cash, according to the criminal complaint.
Another man, Melvin Lee Hunt, 29, of the 700 block of Thornhill Drive, Upper Providence, previously was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and marijuana, persons not to possess firearms and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities in connection with the organization.
Hunt, identified in court papers as one of the “main targets” of the investigation, utilized multiple communication platforms to facilitate his drug trafficking enterprise. Hunt communicated with his drug customer base and co-conspirators via direct messaging with his Instagram account and his cellphone, according to the arrest affidavit.
Some of the firearms seized were possessed by Hunt, who was prohibited by law due to previous felony convictions, from possessing firearms, detectives alleged.
County detectives and Pottstown police were assisted in the investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, the Pennsylvania State Police, Upper Providence Police and West Pottsgrove Police.
