The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a man from Carbon County pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Edwin M. Kosik to the charge of aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Alexander Sommers, age 47, of Summit Hill, Carbon County, admitted to assisting others in distributing crack cocaine and powder cocaine in the Carbon County area between January 2011 and December 2012.
Previously, Victoria Argott, age 34, of Lansford, Carbon County, the former girlfriend of Sommers, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison for participating in the same cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Nesquehoning and Lansford Police Departments in Carbon County.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 40 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
