Police say arrest followed execution of search warrant
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Thomas C. Trowery Jr.
A 48-year-old Coatesville resident faces drug and weapons charges after a search warrant at his residence included the discovery of a loaded, 9mm Ruger handgun and $10,000 worth of cocaine, the District Attorney’s Office said on Wednesday, March 26.
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan and Coatesville Police Chief Jack Laufer made the announcement of Thomas C. Trowery Jr., also known as “Truth” and “TT,” in a news release. Trowery, who listed his occupation as counselor, is accused of three counts of possession with intent to deliver, persons prohibited from possessing firearms, and related offenses, the release said.
“The defendant chose to follow the path of drugs, guns, and money. That path ends in prison or an early death,” said Hogan. “The streets of Coatesville are a little safer today because the defendant has been locked up.”
Trowery, a two-time convicted felon, does not have a license to carry a firearm, the criminal complaint said. He was taken into custody on Saturday after police executed the search warrant. Police, who located the handgun under Trowery’s mattress, also seized one hundred grams of cocaine, a half pound of marijuana, prescription pills, two digital scales, cutting agents, packaging material, three cellular telephones, and U.S. currency, the complaint said.
Laufer said much of the city’s crime stems from the illegal drug trade. “Thomas Trowery, up until this past Saturday, was part of that problem,” he said. “Through investigative efforts of the Coatesville City Police Department in partnership with the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, a significant player in the city’s illicit drug trade has been arrested and incarcerated.”
Hogan noted that although the drug dealers never rest, authorities don’t either. “The Coatesville Police Department, the Chester County Detectives, and the Municipal Drug Task Force will relentlessly pursue those who peddle poison in Coatesville,” he said.
Trowery, who identifies himself as a member of Coatesville Area Senior High’s 1985 class, was arraigned and remanded to Chester County Prison after being unable to post $75,000 cash bail, court records said. A preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, has been continued; however, a new date has not been set.
According to court records, Trowery’s criminal history dates back to a retail theft arrest in 1985 that landed him in the county’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program. Since that time, he has been arrested multiple times for drug offenses in multiple counties; his most recent Chester County convictions occurred in 2000, when he received probation for one and a 4 1/2- to 10-year sentence for the other, records said.
