2 OC men facing drug charges after Postal Service action

Two Oil City men are facing charges for receiving illegal drugs through the mail.

Oil City police said in a criminal complaint that the U.S. Postal Service received confidential information in December about a package addressed to Raymond Evans, 58, who lives on Route 227.

A Postal Service special agent contacted Oil City police and then intercepted the parcel at the Postal Service Pittsburgh distribution center in Warrendale, the complaint said.

The parcel, with a return address of Downey, California, was examined for narcotics by a K9, which alerted the agents to narcotics in the parcel, the complaint said.

Then on Dec. 20, the agents and Oil City police opened the parcel which contained about 30 grams of cocaine and about 400 grams of marijuana, according to the complaint.

Law enforcement seized the narcotics and then repackaged the parcel with “sham narcotics” which they hand-delivered to Evans on Dec. 21, the complaint said.

When Evans went outside and retrieved the package, FBI Eagle Task Force members, including Postal Service agents and Oil City police, knocked on the door of the house which was opened by Carl Hampton, 56, the complaint said.

The officers located Evans in the house and searched the residence, according to the complaint.

Police found a ledger book, $6,078 in cash, and about one-fourth of an ounce of methamphetamine as well as shipping materials addressed to Evans, Hampton, and another woman that were all similar to the intercepted package, the complaint said.

Oil City police interviewed Evans and he told them he had been receiving packages from a man he knows as “Robert” or “Roberto” who he believes is connected to a Mexican drug cartel, the complaint said.

Hampton and Evans have been charged with three felony counts of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver. Evans was also charged with a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility.

The men were arraigned Wednesday and placed in the Venango County jail with bail denied due to being a flight risk.

Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for Wednesday in Central Court.