Delco Drug Gang Leader Gets 12 Years In Federal Prison

CHESTER, PA — The leader of a Delaware County drug gang has been sentenced to a dozen years in federal prison.

Dwayne Butler, 27, of Chester, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $4,000 special assessment for his role as one of the most prolific members of the violent "3rd Bone" drug trafficking group.

Federal authorities said the gang sold large amounts of crack, cocaine, and heroin in downtown Chester.

In October 2019, Butler and nearly two dozen others were arrested pursuant to parallel Indictments of rival drug gangs operating in and around Chester: "3rd Bone," which held power in the area of 3rd and Lamokin Streets, and their rivals, "William Penn," which controlled the territory surrounding the Chester Housing Authority’s William Penn Homes.

Butler and 12 of his "3rd Bone" co-conspirators were charged in a 70-count Indictment alleging conspiracy to distribute crack, cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin (one count); distribution and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances (57 counts); unlawful use of a communications facility in furtherance of a drug felony (five counts); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (three counts); felon in possession of a firearm (two counts); and aiding and abetting.

In September 2021, Butler pleaded guilty to more than 35 drug-related counts, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Earlier this year, another "3rd Bone" defendant, Jamel Covington, 31, also of Chester, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $500 special assessment.

Covington pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and firearms offenses, including maintaining a small arsenal of semiautomatic weapons and bulk amounts of crack and fentanyl in a storage facility rented in his name.