A Pittsburgh resident has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession. Jeffrey Lee Hancock Jr., 41, from the Braddock neighborhood, received a 100-month sentence after being convicted of these offenses.
United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV handed down the sentence on September 2, 2025. The charges stemmed from an April 25, 2024 search by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pennsylvania State Police at Hancock’s residence. Authorities executed a search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking involving Hancock and two co-conspirators.
During the search, investigators reported that Hancock threw a bag containing about 50 bricks of fentanyl out of a second-story window. Inside the home, authorities found another 200 bricks of fentanyl, $2,902 in cash, and two handguns. Hancock was prohibited from possessing firearms due to previous felony convictions. He admitted to conspiring to distribute between 280 and 400 grams of fentanyl.
Before sentencing, Judge Stickman described Hancock as a “recidivist drug trafficker and illegal gun user” who was involved in “poisoning our community” through “the dark and dangerous drug trade.” The judge said that imposing a sentence at the high end of federal guidelines was intended to reflect the seriousness of the crimes and serve as a warning: “a career of crime [will be] met with stiff federal time.”
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski prosecuted the case for the government.
Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti recognized both law enforcement agencies for their work on this case: “I commend the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hancock.”
