CLEVELAND - A Pittsburgh man currently being detained in federal custody in Ohio has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, on charges of solicitation to commit crimes of violence, United States Attorney David J. Hickton of the Western District of Pennsylvania and United States Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach of the Northern District of Ohio announced today.
The two-count indictment, returned on Nov. 4, named Price Montgomery, 35, formerly of Pittsburgh, Pa., as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, from April 2015 until August 2015, in the Northern District of Ohio, Montgomery solicited or endeavored to persuade two persons known to the grand jury as “P1" and “B" to kill a person known to the grand jury as IV-1 (Intended Victim 1). Additionally, from April 2015 until August 2015, in the Northern District of Ohio, Montgomery solicited or endeavored to persuade “P1" to kill a person known to the grand jury as IV-2 (Intended Victim 2).
According to a criminal complaint filed on Oct. 30 in the Northern District of Ohio, Montgomery solicited the murder of IV-1 because Montgomery believed that IV-1 was cooperating with law enforcement in a money laundering investigation against him. In addition, the complaint states that Montgomery solicited the murder of IV-2 in retaliation for her suspected cooperation or testimony against him.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both at each of the two counts. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Montgomery is currently incarcerated at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio, on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges out of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney from the Western District of Pennsylvania has been specially designated to handle this case for the government.
The Western Pennsylvania offices of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service, along with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
