NORRISTOWN — A Pottstown man who was arrested while in possession of 3 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine with a street value of $54,000 has been sent to prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges.

Elijah Hill, 39, of the block of South Evans Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Circuit Court to 8 to 16 years in a state correctional facility after pleading guilty to charges of possession with intent to delivered methamphetamine in connection with the incidents that occurred. between May and June 2023.

Judge Thomas P. Rogers ordered Hill to complete five years of probation consecutive to parole, meaning Hill will be under court supervision for 21 years.

The judge ordered Hill to comply with all treatment recommendations after undergoing a drug and alcohol evaluation as part of the sentence.

Court documents indicate Hill was charged after an investigation into his drug activities by Pottstown detectives, county detectives and members of the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Philadelphia.

During the investigation, authorities conducted several so-called controlled drug buys, during which an informant purchased crystal methamphetamine from Hill multiple times at prearranged meeting locations in the neighborhood in May 2023.

“During each appearance, (the informant) communicated with Elijah Hill by telephone to order the drugs and they agreed on a place and time to meet to complete the drug transaction,” detectives wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Detectives conducted surveillance and witnessed drug transactions.

During the week of June 12, 2023, detectives intercepted phone communications that revealed Hill would make a “multi-pound delivery of crystal methamphetamine” on June 13 to a person in the Walmart parking lot at 233 Shoemaker Road in Pottstown, according to court records. judgment.

Detectives confronted Hill when he arrived at the location and seized a black bag from the passenger seat of Hill’s vehicle. The bag contained approximately three kilograms of suspected crystal methamphetamine, each individually packaged in clear zip-top bags, detectives said.

Based on their training and experience, detectives said the amount of methamphetamine, which had a street value of $54,000, was “consistent with the intent to deliver the drug.”

Additional charges of criminal use of a communication facility and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed against Hill at the time of sentencing.