Two Ohio residents have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a drug trafficking ring that operated between Pennsylvania and Ohio, according to an announcement from First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti. The two were among 27 individuals charged in a case involving the distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, crack, and heroin.
United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentences. Raheem Hurst, 27, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, received five months of imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release on October 15. Torrence Lyde, 36, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced on November 6 to 132 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release.
Court records indicate that from December 2022 to March 2023 in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Hurst conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack. Lyde’s involvement spanned from August 2018 to March 2023; he conspired with others to possess with intent to distribute at least 400 grams of fentanyl, over 500 grams of cocaine, and some amount of cocaine base. Federal wiretaps intercepted both defendants obtaining drugs they then distributed.
Of the original group indicted in March 2023 through a Superseding Indictment for participation in this narcotics conspiracy across state lines, guilty pleas have been entered by 26 defendants. With these latest sentencings, a total of 24 out of the 27 defendants have now been sentenced.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. prosecuted the case for the government.
First Assistant United States Attorney Rivetti recognized several agencies for their roles in investigating the case: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation; United States Postal Inspection Service; and other local law enforcement agencies” were commended “for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of the defendants.”
