State narcotics agents accuse Vandergrift men of exchanging guns for crystal meth

State narcotics agents accused a Vandergrift man of buying guns from shops in Westmoreland and Armstrong counties and then using them to pay for the crystal methamphetamine he was selling.

James Bernard Wolfe, 30, of the 100 block of Farragut Avenue faces 15 felony gun charges along with counts of drug possession.

He was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Tuesday, May 30.

Agents also filed four felony firearm charges and two felony drug counts against Luis Alberto Brackman, 42, of the 100 block of Sherman Avenue.

Brackman was released from the county jail Monday, May 22, after a Pittsburgh bail agency posted a $10,000 bond on his behalf, court records show. His preliminary hearing before Peck Yakopec also is scheduled for Tuesday.

Police accused Brackman of taking five guns as payment for crystal meth he gave to Wolfe to sell, according to a criminal complaint.

Wolfe told police that Brackman typically sold him an “8 ball,” or 3.5 grams, of crystal methamphetamine for $150 that he would then resell.

A third man, Ronald Johnson Jr., 35, of the 1100 block of Washington Street, was charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver along with two counts of drug possession and resisting arrest.

Johnson was arrested while police were doing undercover surveillance at a gas station near Brackman’s home after seeing him exchange money for drugs while seated inside a vehicle, the complaint said.

Johnson was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail on a $10,000 cash bond to await a preliminary hearing before Peck Yakopec on Tuesday, court records show.

Narcotics agents working with the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force wrote in the arrest papers for the three men that Wolfe admitted during questioning April 28 that he was buying guns from stores and giving them to Brackman to pay for the meth he sold.

He told investigators he did not file the paperwork needed to legally transfer a firearm between people, the complaint said.

Wolfe told police he also sold two guns to another man from Vandergrift without submitting the proper paperwork.

On May 16, agents said, they were watching Brackman’s house, which is near a Valero gas station.

They said Brackman pulled into his driveway and walked to the gas station and into the store.

The driver of a black sedan that was parked at the pumps for an extended time followed Brackman into the store before returning to his car a short time later, the complaint said.

Johnson was then seen leaving Wolfe’s house and crossing Farragut Street to the gas station, where he got into the black sedan, according to the complaint.

Agents said they saw Johnson give the driver money in exchange for drugs.

Officers surrounded the car and arrested Johnson, who had four stamp bags of fentanyl and a small amount of crystal meth wrapped in paper on the ground near his feet, the complaint said.

A small bag of crystal meth was found in his vest pocket when he was searched, investigators said.

Agents said they found Brackman sitting at a state lottery machine inside the store. They arrested him for possession of marijuana after he admitted that the drug was inside a container they saw in his pocket, the complaint said.

Authorities said agents found a baggie with 3.8 grams of crystal meth and $1,338 when they searched him.

Agents who searched Brackman’s house after he gave them permission said they found a digital scale, packaging material and 16.8 grams of crystal meth in his bedroom.

Wolfe was arrested at his house after police saw a small bag of crystal meth tucked in his hat above his right ear while speaking with him, police said.

When agents questioned him about the contents of a metal vial hanging from his neck, he told them it was a deceased relative’s ashes, according to the complaint.

Agents said the substance inside the vial was crystal meth, not ashes, the complaint said.