BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Authorities have dismantled a multi-state, multimillion-dollar drug trafficking organization, charging a man who fired at a Bucks County drug task force as they served a warrant in Philadelphia.
Three people in total have been charged in the operation as authorities seized eight firearms and $4 million in drugs, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday.
Nicholas Sperando, 26, of Philadelphia, is being held without bail on two counts each of attempted murder and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
He also faces three counts of aggravated assault as well as one count each of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances, criminal conspiracy, possessing an instrument of crime, criminal use of a communication facility, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
While executing a search warrant on Jan. 15, members of a large, multi-agency task force led by the Bucks County Detectives Drug Strike Force and the Bensalem Township Police Special Investigation Unit were met with gunfire, authorities said.
Less than a minute later, as officers retreated and maintained cover, a second round was fired through the front door and storm door, directly targeting the position where the officers had been standing.
When authorities finally entered the home after Sperando’s surrender, they recovered the FN Herstal 5.7 pistol used in the shooting, and police noted that there was a live round jammed in the chamber that likely prevented the defendant from firing even more rounds.
Also located in the house was an AR-style rifle, a Glock handgun with an extended magazine, and bulk quantities of marijuana and drug proceeds.
The operation simultaneously targeted other key locations used by the organization, Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan said.
At a stash house on Day Street in Philadelphia, David Tierney was apprehended after he was observed attempting to flush pills and suspected cocaine down a toilet as officers arrived. At that location, agents discovered a firearm under a pillow and a trailer filled with enormous quantities of marijuana and THC vapes.
A third search at a location on James Street, Sperando’s place of work, yielded a short-barrel Mossberg pump shotgun, a Ruger .380, and a significant supply of psilocybin mushrooms and edibles.
In total, the investigation removed eight firearms and $4 million worth of drugs from the streets, including 300 pounds of marijuana and 17,000 THC vapes. Other drugs included 80 pounds of THC concentrate, 600 bags of THC Edibles, 15 pounds of Psilocybin Mushrooms, 75 Psilocybin Mushroom Edibles, 300 Adderall pills, and 2 ounces of Cocaine, authorities said.
Khan said the Jan. 15 raid was the culmination of a months-long investigation where investigators conducted multiple purchases of controlled substances from Sperando.
These transactions occurred in Levittown and Northeast Philadelphia.
Although the shooting occurred in Philadelphia, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, in cooperation of the Attorney General’s Office, asserted jurisdiction over the shooting.
Sperando remains in custody without bail, while Tierney is being held on $250,000 bail.
A third suspect, Nicholas Keenoy, surrendered to authorities on Tuesday. Authorities said Keenoy was previously arrested in New Jersey on an outstanding warrant but was released by that state after posting cash bail before his extradition to Pennsylvania.
(Bucks County District Attorney’s Office)
