� 1 This is an appeal from a judgment of sentence imposed upon Appellant after he was convicted of possession of cocaine offenses. Appellant asserts that the prosecutor made an impermissible reference to post-arrest silence when questioning his lone witness and that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move for a mistrial afterward. We agree with Appellant’s assertions and, consequently, vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for a new trial.
� 2 On February 10, 1999, Pittsburgh Police Officers Talib Ghafoor, Terry Holland and others were working a drug suppression detail in the Homewood/Brushton area of Pittsburgh. As part of his duties, Officer Ghafoor was dressed in “plain clothes” and walking the street. As Ghafoor approached the intersection of Brushton Avenue and Mulford Street, a man, later identified by Officer Ghafoor as Appellant, approached Officer Ghafoor and inquired if Officer Ghafoor “got high.” Ghafoor responded “yeah, I get high.” The man then asked Ghafoor how much money he had. Officer Ghafoor responded, “$5.” The man persuaded Officer Ghafoor to give him the five dollars and then led Officer Ghafoor to the Honey Dew Bar, a local bar which, according to local reputation, is a place where one can purchase illicit drugs.
� 3 Inside the Honey Dew, Ghafoor’s new companion approached another unidentified man toward the end of the bar near the bathroom. The two men completed an exchange, cash for an object Officer Ghafoor could not identify, whereupon Ghafoor and the first man left the bar. After leaving the Honey Dew, the two men proceeded to the 600 block of Hale Street at which time the man produced a baggie with a piece of crack cocaine in it. The man broke the piece in two and handed Officer Ghafoor one of the pieces. The man then proceeded to the back of an abandoned house, ostensibly to smoke the “crack.” Officer Ghafoor then radioed the other members of the detail to close in and make an arrest. However, when the officers closed in on the location where the man was believed to have gone, nobody was there. Additional units were called and the officers searched the neighborhood for approximately 45 minutes in an attempt to find the man who had purchased the crack cocaine. Just as the officers were ready to abandon the search Officer Ghafoor spotted Appellant walking down the street. Believing that Appellant was the same man that had purchased the crack cocaine in the Honey Dew Bar and shared it with him, Officer Ghafoor arrested Appellant and took him into custody. Appellant was later charged with two counts of possession of cocaine.
