Boston Pastor Arrested On Drug Trafficking Charges
ROXBURY (CBS) -- Boston Police arrested a pastor Tuesday who they say had a large stash of drugs and cash, as well as thousands of dollars worth of stolen property.
Willie Wilkerson, 58 of Dorchester, is facing several drug trafficking charges. He is the pastor and owner of Mission Church and Victoria's Kitchen Food Trailer in Roxbury.
Among the services at that church is a 12-step substance abuse recovery group.
Police executed warrants on Wilkerson's Baker Avenue home, his Quincy Street church, and on Wilkerson himself around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
They said they found 34 grams of crack cocaine, 11 grams of fentanyl, 50 Percocet pills, 87 Suboxone strips, 32 Klonopin pills, and about $10,400 in cash.
Investigators also said they found equipment from an excavating company and property reported stolen in a recent break-in, all of which totaled around $20,000 in value.
Boston Police said they are still investigating, and that Wilkerson may face additional charges.
One of Wilkerson's nieces says the charges are trumped up. "He's a wonderful man, he helps everybody just like his mother," said Ivette Mitchell. "Everything is fabricated."
Another niece told WBZ Wilkerson is more used to jail, than he is to church.
A judge set bail at $50,000 and ordered Wilkerson to wear a GPS monitor and stay within Massachusetts if he is released.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports