ERIE, Pa. - Two residents of Erie, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal drug laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Levonne Rowan, 32, and Dywon Rowan, 31, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that the Rowans were arrested after ordering 3.5 kilograms of cocaine in exchange for $142,800. The cash was seized from the Rowans when they arrived in Edinboro, Pennsylvania to purchase the cocaine.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for Aug. 31, 2015. The law provides for a total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Pending sentencing, the court continued the Rowans on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
A federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of Levonne and Dywon Rowan. The task force is headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations and is comprised of members drawn from the Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Border Patrol, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Organized Crime Section, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
