Two Philadelphia men allegedly planned to rob — and allegedly threatened to shoot — a customer during a drug deal to buy $4,000 worth of prescription painkillers.
But the customer turned out to be an undercover Bensalem cop, police said, and the alleged drugs turned out to be fakes.
The incident unfolded Tuesday afternoon, when an undercover officer arranged to buy 300 Oxycodone pills in the parking lot of a hotel on Old Lincoln Highway, police said.
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| David McCoy (left) and Tariq Moore |
Shortly after 5:30 p.m. the alleged dealer called “Troy” — later identified as 29-year-old Tariq Moore — contacted the undercover officer to let him know where and when the deal would take place, according to a probable cause affidavit.
As the officer approached Moore’s GMC Yukon, he was told to get in the back seat. But when he opened the door, he noticed movement in the middle seat of the car and someone who appeared to be hiding under a blanket.
The officer immediately got out of the car and told Moore he felt like he was going to be robbed, police said. Moore denied it, but the officer wasn’t convinced. He told Moore to get out of the truck and meet him in the walkway to do the deal.
Moore got out of the truck and showed the officer a plastic bag containing pills, court documents said. The officer gave him $1,600 in pre-recorded “buy” money and then told the suspect to hand over the pills if he wanted the rest of the money.
The two men started arguing and then Moore yelled toward the truck.
“My man, klack ‘em, klack ‘em,” the suspect yelled, the affidavit said. “Klack ‘em” is a common gang term meaning to shoot someone, according to police, who said another man climbed into the back of the Yukon.
When Moore gave the officer two clear plastic bags containing different types of pills, the officer handed him the rest of the “buy” money, officials said.
Police said that as Moore ran back to his truck, he continued yelling, “Klack ‘em, klack ‘em,” then tried to flee when the undercover officer gave the signal to make an arrest. Moore hit an unmarked police car as he tried to flee.
Assisting officers blocked Moore’s vehicle, police said. Both men were ordered out of the car with their hands up. Police saw the second man – identified as 25-year-old David McCoy – jumping back and forth between the rear passenger compartment and the rear trunk, court documents said.
Police obtained and executed a search warrant and found duct tape, rope and a .40 caliber handgun in the trunk area. Police learned the gun was reported stolen, along with 10 rounds of ammunition, during a Philadelphia burglary in September.
The undercover officer wasn’t injured, but two officers in the unmarked car had minor injuries. They were treated at the hospital and released and should return to full duty soon, police said.
At headquarters, McCoy told police that Moore offered to pay him $100 to drive him to Bensalem to sell “fake pills” to someone, according to police. The two men came up with a plan to rob the customer, police said.
The original plan, McCoy said, was to sell the fake pills, but if the sale didn’t take place, McCoy was supposed to jump out from underneath the blanket where he was hiding and rob the buyer, court documents said.
Moore told police he had arranged and sold the fake drugs to the undercover officer because he “needed to make money,” police said.
Both men were arrested and arraigned Wednesday morning on robbery, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent and related charges. Moore was also charged with criminal solicitation of first-degree murder, possession of an illegal firearm and criminal use of a communication device.
Moore was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $1 million bail; McCoy was sent to prison in lieu of 10 percent of $750,000 bail.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
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