State College man convicted of dealing cocaine

By Pete Bosak and Sara Ganim

BELLEFONTE — A State College man police called a high-level cocaine dealer was found guilty Monday of four felonies related to delivery and possession of a controlled substance as well as a misdemeanor charge.

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This was the first of four trials that Antonio Alexander Jr., 29, will face in Centre County on drug-related charges.

Police say Alexander, who lived at 424 Waupelani Drive in State College at the time of his arrest last May, was accused of selling cocaine to an undercover State College police officer on two occasions. Alexander also tried trading the officer drugs for a handgun.

It took the jury just one hour and twenty minutes to find Alexander guilty of selling $650 worth of cocaine to an undercover agent on one occasion in April 2007.

He will be sentenced at 9 a.m. June 9 in front of Judge Pamela Ruest, who presided over his daylong trial Monday.

Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said he will seek the mandatory sentence on the charges, meaning Alexander could face 10 to 20 years in prison.

When he was arrested, Alexander had been out of prison for about a year after serving a 10-year term for aggravated assault in Philadelphia, to which he pleaded guilty in exchange for two murder counts being dropped. He also was in trouble with police in Lewistown, where he had been recently bailed out of jail on weapons charges.

Local authorities classified Alexander as a high-level cocaine dealer, evidenced by the man having his own surveillance team to watch for police. Still, an undercover officer was able to get inside Alexander’s operation and, on April 22, 2007, he bought two 8-balls of cocaine, about 3.5 grams, for $650. About two weeks later the officer bought 7.87 grams of cocaine for $1,000.

During these buys and conversations, Alexander pressed for a gun from the detective, or “heaters,” as Alexander put it, according to court testimony.

So the undercover officer made a deal to trade a handgun for cocaine. Instead of making the trade, officers arrested Alexander.

Alexander still faces multiple felonies in relation to other undercover buys in the area; juries have not been picked for those cases, Madeira said.

Pete Bosak can be reached at 235-3928.