CMU Grad Student Arrested, Charged With Running Meth Ring
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Carnegie Mellon University graduate student was arrested Wednesday and is now facing drug charges, accused of running a meth distribution ring that stretched from Pittsburgh to the state of California.
The suspect, David Holly, 44, of Squirrel Hill, is charged with dealing "ICE," which is the street name for a very powerful form of methamphetamine.
Holly, a CMU grad student and Ph.D. candidate whose thesis dealt with illegal drugs in America, walked out of the North Versailles Police Department Wednesday evening denying everything.
Reporter: "You weren't selling?"
Holly: "No, not at all.
Reporter: "Where'd all these drugs come from?"
Holly: "Jeez, I don't know."
Holly is facing drug possession, possession with intent to deliver and other related counts.
With the help of North Versailles and several other police agencies, Allegheny County's detectives took Holly into custody.
Searching his Aylesboro Avenue home, investigators found several thousand dollars in cash and suspected meth. Holly's CMU ID card was amongst the alleged contraband.
"The agents were here most of the day," said Richard Goehring, a neighbor.
Goehring, who lives next door, says this isn't the first time police showed up at Holly's apartment.
"In December, quite a few agents apprehended Mr. Holly as he was leaving his apartment in a pretty dramatic fashion," said Goehring.
Investigators say Holly, a California native, would travel out west to buy the drugs and then mail them to himself. He allegedly cut the drugs up in his apartment and sold it in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, including Monroeville, Penn Hills and Delmont.
Back in December, the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office said investigators intercepted parcels that Holly had allegedly mailed from California to his home and his CMU office. Holly was arrested and released on bond.
Authorities say an undercover officer bought suspected meth from the suspect Tuesday night. It is being tested at the Allegheny County Crime Lab.
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