Man faces drug ring charges
An Upper St. Clair man has been arrested on charges of being involved in a lucrative drug ring that police said operated in State College and was particularly active in off-campus fraternity houses at Penn State.
David M. Apple, 23, of Brookdale Drive, was charged with possession and possession with intent to deliver marijuana, according to State College police Sgt. Dana Leonard.
Apple is one of at least 12 members accused of being involved in what Leonard called a "loose-knit" Ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana ring that has operated in Centre County since 1998. Apple has not been accused of dealing Ecstasy or cocaine, Leonard said.
Another alleged member of the ring, Jeremy Crouse, 24, of Mt. Washington, is one of six men under indictment by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of being involved in a $3 million Ecstasy ring operating in Pennsylvania and several other states.
Crouse is one of the operators of Club Phlo on Smallman Street in the Strip District where, according to the indictment, those involved in the western Pennsylvania end of the operation met to plan delivery and receive payments for Ecstasy, a synthetic, psychoactive drug popular on high school and college campuses.
Crouse and another Club Phlo operator, Oleg "Alex" Logatchev, 23, of Mt. Washington, are the only members of the western Pennsylvania operation implicated in Centre County, Leonard said. A third operator of Club Phlo, Jacob Rosen, 23, of Harrisburg, has been charged in Centre County, but not by federal authorities.
A warrant for Crouse has been issued in State College, Leonard said, but local authorities have not charged Logatchev. Centre County authorities may decide to leave the prosecution of both men to federal authorities, Leonard said.
Another alleged member of the State College ring, Nicole Taylor, 23, of Bellwood, Blair County, surrendered Tuesday to face 24 counts of possession and possession with intent to deliver Ecstasy, Leonard said.
Leonard said it is possible that some members of the State College ring aren't acquainted with all of its members.
