D.A.: Kid burglars steal 15 oz. of heroin, then tell police

A group of juveniles who stole 15 ounces of heroin from an alleged drug dealer's apartment reported their crime to Cheltenham police after the drug dealer threatened to murder them, said the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Now the alleged dealer, Edward Tillman, and four of his alleged cohorts are charged with drug trafficking and related offenses.

Police said Tillman dealt in heroin, cocaine and crystal meth, mostly in the Montgomery County Housing Authority complex known as the Bright Hope Community on West King Street in Pottstown. He has allegedly been an active dealer since April 2013.

On March 28 of this year, Tillman's apartment was burglarized by a group of kids who stole, among other items, 15 ounces of heroin Tillman kept in his residence, police said.

"Tillman made death threats to the juvenile burglars that would be carried out if his drugs were not returned," the news release said. "Instead of returning the stolen heroin (t)he burglars went to the Cheltenham Police Department."

When police executed a search warrant at Tillman's home they found drugs, money, two guns and drug packaging material, according to the release.

Tillman was arrested at Philadelphia motel room in April and yesterday, he arraigned and remanded to prison on $1 million bail.