David Matthew Yohn, 53, of Springfield Township, Bucks County, is charged with allegedly participating in a bicoastal drug trafficking operation. Prosecutors allege that he was part of a syndicate that “shipped millions of dollars in deadly drugs from Los Angeles to Bucks County and surrounding areas” and “was also involved in the illegal possession and transfer of firearms.” (Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s office/Crimewatch)
A Springfield Township man is facing multiple charges for his alleged involvement in a multi-state drug trafficking operation which prosecutors say shipped millions of dollars in drugs from Los Angeles to Bucks County and nearby areas.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub announced the charges against 53-year-old David Matthew Yohn and five others on Tuesday.
According to the DA’s office, in addition to the six arrests made in both Pennsylvania and southern California Sept. 6, the seven-month investigation led to the seizure of over $3.5 million in drugs, over 40 guns and approximately 100,000 rounds of ammunition.
The drugs seized included over 60 pounds of methamphetamine, a kilogram of fentanyl, more than a kilogram of cocaine, 65 pounds of marijuana, prebagged fentanyl/heroin, 300 fentanyl pills and six pounds of mushrooms, and among the confiscated firearms were “handguns, shotguns, hunting rifles and assault rifles equipped with suppressors,” the office said.
“Some of the handguns included homemade ghost guns, untraceable firearms without serial numbers,” the office said, and prosecutors allege that “the drug trafficking organization was also involved in the illegal possession and transfer of firearms.”
Others charged in what is described as an ongoing investigation include Avrian Haywood Mack, 21, of Reading; Davone Desean Walker, 43, of Allentown; Miguel Aliaga, 36, of Walnutport; Michael Sanchez, 32, of Los Angeles; and Aived Abel Garcia, 25, of Chula Vista, Calif.
Authorities said their investigation began in February and revealed that the alleged drug organization was using U.S. parcel companies to ship large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana from Los Angeles to southeastern Pennsylvania.
“By dismantling this dangerous national drug trafficking organization, the Bucks County Drug Strike Force and its law enforcement partners, have undoubtedly saved countless lives,” Weintraub said in a news release published on Crimewatch. “(There is) more to come,” he added.
Yohn and the five other men are facing felony charges of corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and criminal conspiracy, authorities said.
Following a preliminary arraignment before Bucks County District Judge Lisa Gaier Sept. 6, Yohn, Mack and Aliaga were committed to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2 million bail each, and Walker was sent to BCCF under $2.5 million bail, the DA’s office said.
According to the court docket filed in his case, Yohn’s bail includes a 10 percent option, which as of Thursday hadn’t been exercised.
The docket said he is being represented by a court-appointed public defender and was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing before Gaier Thursday afternoon.
Sanchez and Garcia are currently in custody in California and are awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania, the DA office’s news release said.
The office said the agencies that collaborated on the investigation include the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office Drug Strike Force, Quakertown Borough Police Department, Philadelphia Division of Homeland Security Investigations (SAC Philadelphia), Pennsylvania Counterdrug Joint Task Force (PA CJTF), Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), Richland Township Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Liberty Mid-Atlantic High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Orange County Probation Department, Berks County Detectives, United States Postal Service (USPS), Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General (PAOAG), Bensalem Township Police Department, Montgomery County Detectives, and the Los Angeles (ASAC LAX) and San Diego (SAC San Diego) Divisions of Homeland Security Investigations.
Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from the Bucks County District Attorney’s office and Bucks County court records.
