Drugs & Domestic Abuse Lands Coatesville Man In Prison For 20-40 Years

WEST CHESTER, PA — A 44-year-old Coatesville man was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison for convictions in drug and domestic abuse cases and a guilty plea in a second domestic case.

Kenneth Cole was sentenced Friday by Chester County Judge Analisa Sondergaard in the Chester County Justice Center here in three cases for crimes committed over 14 months.

First Assistant District attorney Mike Barry said Cole earned this lengthy sentence, and Coatesville is safer without him.

“Kenneth Cole is a drug dealer and a menace to Coatesville and his own family,” Barry said. “He endangered his community by peddling drugs to those suffering from substance use disorder while lining his pockets with money and food stamps.”

According to prosecutors:

• On May 23, 2019, Coatesville police responded to a report of domestic disturbance between Cole and his wife. Cole used his 11-year-old son as a shield against police. In September 2021, Cole was convicted by a jury of endangering the welfare of a child and released charges.
• On Sept. 15, 2019, Cole’s wife reported to state police that he assaulted her while she was driving from Philadelphia to Coatesville. The victim was taken to Brandywine Hospital for treatment. In March 2022, Cole pleaded guilty to simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
• On Aug. 14, 2020, Chester County detectives and a drug task force Cole on charges of selling cocaine, methamphetamine, and prescription pills from his Coatesville home. Police found controlled substances, three illegal firearms, over $60,000 in cash, and drug packaging and manufacturing paraphernalia. In March 2022, a jury found the defendant guilty of multiple counts of drug and weapon offenses.

The cases were investigated by the Chester County detectives, the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Taskforce, Coatesville police and state police. Assistant District Attorney Kate Wright prosecuted the case.