Two Philadelphia men face felony charges after selling crack cocaine to a confidential informant in Scranton, authorities say.
On June 12, officials from the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office met with a person who provided information about the distribution of cocaine in the area.
The informant ordered a quantity of crack cocaine on a phone line recorded and monitored by investigators.
During the recorded conversation, the informant was directed to a residence on Myrtle Street.
The informant was given money to buy the drugs and outfitted with a recording device so investigators could record the conversation during the buy.
Investigators kept the informant under surveillance as they traveled to the agreed-upon location.
Once there, they spotted a Nissan Rogue SUV parked a short distance away and noticed two men in the vehicle.
One of the men, later identified as Roger Branch of Philadelphia, exited the SUV, walked directly to the informant’s car and entered it.
There, covert video recording equipment installed in the informant’s vehicle captured the sale of narcotics to the informant.
Branch exited the informant’s vehicle and went back to the Rogue.
The informant turned over to investigators the crack cocaine purchased during the recorded transaction.
Following completion of the transaction, the Rogue began to leave the area and was stopped by investigators, who identified the driver as Quintin Adams.
Adams provided inconsistent statements involving his involvement in the transaction and was arrested.
Branch and Adams each face a felony charge of attempt to deliver a controlled substance.
Both remain in the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Both men have preliminary hearings scheduled for June 25 before District Judge Paul Keeler.