Two Ohio residents have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a drug trafficking operation that spanned Pennsylvania and Ohio, according to First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti. The sentences are part of a larger case involving 27 individuals indicted in March 2023 for participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, crack, and heroin across state lines.
United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan handed down the following sentences:
Raheem Hurst, 27, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, received five months of imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release. Torrence Lyde, 36, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to 132 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
Court records show that from December 2022 to March 2023, Hurst conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Lyde’s involvement lasted from August 2018 to March 2023 and included conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute at least 400 grams of fentanyl, at least 500 grams of cocaine, and additional quantities of cocaine base. Both defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap as they obtained drugs for further distribution.
Of the original group charged in the Superseding Indictment, 24 have now been sentenced after guilty pleas from 26 defendants.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting the case.
First Assistant United States Attorney Rivetti stated: “First Assistant United States Attorney Rivetti commended 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 for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of the defendants.”
