Suspected drug dealer arrested in Monessen

By Kaylie Moore
kmoore@yourmvi.com
A suspected drug dealer was arrested Tuesday after police found large amounts of cocaine and other narcotics in his Monessen home.
The state Office of the Attorney General charged Joshua P. Vanhooser, 37, of Page Street with possession of a firearm prohibited, knowledge that property is proceeds of illegal act, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver and five counts of intent to possess a controlled substance.
On Friday, state investigators and Elizabeth Township police task force officers executed a search warrant on Vanhooser’s second known residence on Frencik Street in Buena Vista, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
While no one was home at the time, officers found 1 kilogram of cocaine underneath a dresser drawer in Vanhooser’s bedroom and 2 more kilograms of cocaine in a shoe box in his closet. Approximately $10,900 was found in a Crown Royal bag inside the dresser and in a backpack in the bedroom, the affidavit states.
Agents also recovered a Monessen football sweatshirt and the receipt for a motorcycle purchase bearing Vanhooser’s name. A confidential source allegedly familiar with Vanhooser’s “narcotics trafficking” told police Vanhooser purchased the motorcycle and two vehicles, which he placed in other people’s names, court records indicate.
Police were also able to confirm the source’s information about Vanhooser’s residence, phone number and other personal information, as well as several individuals involved in his cocaine purchases and sales, the affidavit states.
The confidential source also provided information “against his/her (own) penal interest” in assisting with the investigation, police said.
Vanhooser allegedly purchases the cocaine in McKeesport and Braddock in Allegheny County before selling it from his home in Monessen. The source has allegedly seen Vanhooser in possession of more than $100,000 in cash and shared a cellphone photo of Vanhooser with approximately $25,000 in cash, the affidavit states.
Agents began a stakeout of Vanhooser’s home following the search. When he returned Tuesday, he carried a small, black bag containing approximately $14,000 to his bedroom and allegedly began yelling when he discovered the cocaine and cash were missing, police said.

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