PITTSBURGH, PA — A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 12 years of imprisonment on his convictions Possession with the Intent to Distribute Heroin and Crack Cocaine, Possession of Firearms and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of Contraband in Prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.
United States District Judge Robert J. Colville imposed the sentence Tuesday, April 11, 2023, on Kris Johnson, age 32, of the City’s Knoxville neighborhood.
According to information presented to the court, Johnson used the third-floor bedroom of a relative’s house located on Antrim Street, which is in the Northside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, as a place to store his controlled substances and firearms. On Nov. 9, 2017, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office executed a Family Division arrest warrant at that home unrelated to Johnson. During the protective sweep of the residence and a later search warrant, officers from the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office found, in a third-floor bedroom used by Johnson, distribution quantities of heroin and crack cocaine, two guns, numerous boxes of ammunition, two digital scales, rubber bands consistent with the packaging of drugs, two cellular telephones and evidence linking the defendant to the bedroom. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office recovered Johnson’s fingerprints from a digital scale and a box of ammunition found in the bedroom. Johnson is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law because of he has prior felony convictions, which include prior drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession charges.
While awaiting trial for those offenses, Johnson was incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail. Officials from the Allegheny County Jail received some information that Johnson’s cell contained drugs, and they conducted a search of the cell on Aug. 12, 2018. During the search, Johnson was found in possession of a ripped off glove finger that contained more than 150 small pieces of paper consistent with a “hit” of K-2. Subsequent laboratory analysis by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the substance was 5-F ADB, which is a synthetic cannabinoid and a Schedule I controlled substance.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Allegheny County Sherriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Johnson.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and Microsoft Start.