CLEARFIELD – After seven days of testimony and nearly four hours of deliberations Wednesday, a jury reached its verdict in the “Operation Drive Thru” drug trial in which three men had been accused of operating a massive cocaine ring in Clearfield County.
Michael Styers, 55, of Mercer, was convicted of six counts of possession with intent to deliver and six counts of delivery of a controlled substance. He was also found guilty of two counts of corrupt organizations; two counts of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities; criminal conspiracy; and criminal use of a communication facility.
However, the jury acquitted Styers of nine charges related to the Rite Aid burglaries in 2006 and 2007. He was found not guilty of possession with intent to deliver and delivery of a controlled substance; two counts of criminal conspiracy; burglary; theft by unlawful taking; receiving stolen property; criminal attempt and criminal trespass.
Charles Gearhart, 41, of Woodland was convicted of 12 counts of delivery of a controlled substance; two counts of possession with the intent to deliver; two counts of corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; criminal use of a communication facility; and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity.
Maharaji “Bean” Hemingway, 36, of Philadelphia was convicted of six counts of delivery of a controlled substance. In addition, he was found guilty of two counts of corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; criminal use of a communication facility; and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.
Hemingway was acquitted of the false imprisonment of Autumn Kifer, which prosecutors said allegedly occurred in the summer of 2007. Autumn Kifer testified Thursday that although she couldn’t pinpoint an exact date or year, she believed this incident occurred in 2006. After her testimony, Hemingway’s attorney Lance Marshall indicated that if it’d occurred in 2007, his client would have been incarcerated.
The three defendants’ charges resulted from an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operated by Styers, who traveled to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Wilkes Barre and obtained cocaine to resale to customers in Clearfield. Styers’ operation imported more than 20 kilograms of cocaine into Clearfield beginning in 2004 and also generated millions of dollars in profits, according to a press release from the state’s attorney general’s office in 2008.
The investigation was dubbed “Operation Drive Thru,” because both Charles and Danielle Gearhart were regularly selling cocaine to multiple customers through the rear bedroom window of their trailer in Hyde. Defendant Charles Gearhart was second in command to Styers, and their supplier was Hemingway, or “Bean,” of Philadelphia, according to a press release from the state’s attorney general’s office in 2008.
The jury had one question arise during their deliberations Wednesday, which came at approximately 3 p.m. after nearly three-and-a-half hours in the jury room. They requested Clearfield County President Judge Fredric Ammerman re-read their jury instructions for the burglary and theft charges against Styers.