HARRISBURG, PA — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Eric Banks, age 42, of York, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Wednesday to 270 months imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson for drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, following a four-day trial in October 2021, a jury found Banks guilty of conspiracy to distribute heroin, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possession of firearms as a previously convicted felon. The trial evidence showed that Banks distributed significant quantities of heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine in the York area in 2017 and 2018. In January 2018, during the execution of a search warrant at Banks’ York residence, law enforcement recovered drugs, drug-packaging materials, and three loaded handguns. Two of the handguns had been reported stolen.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the York County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlo D. Marchioli and Christian T. Haugsby prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally-based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was brought as part of a district-wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin-related offenses.
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