A Pennsylvania resident has pleaded guilty to federal court charges involving the dark web. The defendant had been charges for contravening drug laws as reflected by an announcement that was recently made by the Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman.
Michael Anderson, the 43-year-old man from Kane, pleaded admitted to the charge of attempting to possess with an intent to distribute 50 grams of a mixture of substance containing a detectable measure of amphetamine – a Schedule II controlled drug.
The guilty plea was done before Senior U.S. District Judge David Cercone who learnt that the man’s objective acts denoted the defendant’s intent to commit a crime on August 26, 2020.
Additional reports outlined the various agencies that carried out the investigations leading to prosecution of the defendant – including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the McKean County Detectives, and the McKean County Drug Taskforce.
The details provided by a court indictment intimated that the illicit drug was obtained from the hidden web with the intention of selling and distributing the substance in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
In light of the facts of the case, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines provide clarity on the nature of sentencing that may be chosen based on the seriousness of the offence and the defendant’s prior criminal history.
The court papers went on to outline the probable penalties that may be prescribed by the court at the suspect’s conviction. It turns out that the offence of possession-with-an-intent-to-distribute the meth may attract a prison term of not less than five years to a maximum of forty years.
The alternative penalty would be the imposition of a fine not exceeding $5,000,000, or a term of supervised release of a minimum of four years. Point to note, the prison sentence may be imposed along with the hefty fine.
Otherwise, according to the court indictment, the penalties would be quite different in case the court will prove that the defendant had prior conviction on charges regarding a drug or a serious violent felony.
To that effect, the prison term would range from a minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life behind bars. The fine in this case would be marked at a figure not exceeding $8,000,000, including the possibility of supervised release of at least eight years.
So far, as reported in a June 29 press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Anderson’s bond has since been continued pending sentencing at a future date.
Inside Pennsylvania's Meth Problem
The opioid epidemic has been a lingering issues in the State of Pennsylvania for years, with experts indicating s growing meth addiction that has hit the state in addition to the existing opioid crisis.
For a long time, meth has been a common drug among Midwestern or West coast states – but it turns out that meth use in Pennsylvania is rising beyond the bounds of regional preference for opiates.
Meth, which was once a rare sight, has since spread throughout Pennsylvania as reported by physicians, law enforcement agents, and public health outreach personnel. The reality exists in the backdrop of past statistics showing that opioids, and not meth, ruled the streets in cases involving drug overdose deaths.
Today, meth use in Pennsylvania seems to be taking an upward trend as observed by the medical director at Temple University Episcopal Hospital’s crisis response center, meth use has been rising to significant levels.
In conclusion, there are lots of unanswered questions to rationalize the shifting dynamics, although official reports believe that the high rates if opioid-related deaths has influenced drug users to switch to meth.
A Pennsylvania resident has pleaded guilty to federal court charges involving the dark web. The defendant had been charges for contravening drug laws as reflected by an announcement that was recently made by the Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman.
Michael Anderson, the 43-year-old man from Kane, pleaded admitted to the charge of attempting to possess with an intent to distribute 50 grams of a mixture of substance containing a detectable measure of amphetamine – a Schedule II controlled drug.
The guilty plea was done before Senior U.S. District Judge David Cercone who learnt that the man’s objective acts denoted the defendant’s intent to commit a crime on August 26, 2020.
Additional reports outlined the various agencies that carried out the investigations leading to prosecution of the defendant – including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the McKean County Detectives, and the McKean County Drug Taskforce.
The details provided by a court indictment intimated that the illicit drug was obtained from the hidden web with the intention of selling and distributing the substance in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
In light of the facts of the case, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines provide clarity on the nature of sentencing that may be chosen based on the seriousness of the offence and the defendant’s prior criminal history.
The court papers went on to outline the probable penalties that may be prescribed by the court at the suspect’s conviction. It turns out that the offence of possession-with-an-intent-to-distribute the meth may attract a prison term of not less than five years to a maximum of forty years.
The alternative penalty would be the imposition of a fine not exceeding $5,000,000, or a term of supervised release of a minimum of four years. Point to note, the prison sentence may be imposed along with the hefty fine.
Otherwise, according to the court indictment, the penalties would be quite different in case the court will prove that the defendant had prior conviction on charges regarding a drug or a serious violent felony.
To that effect, the prison term would range from a minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life behind bars. The fine in this case would be marked at a figure not exceeding $8,000,000, including the possibility of supervised release of at least eight years.
So far, as reported in a June 29 press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Anderson’s bond has since been continued pending sentencing at a future date.
Inside Pennsylvania's Meth Problem
The opioid epidemic has been a lingering issues in the State of Pennsylvania for years, with experts indicating s growing meth addiction that has hit the state in addition to the existing opioid crisis.
For a long time, meth has been a common drug among Midwestern or West coast states – but it turns out that meth use in Pennsylvania is rising beyond the bounds of regional preference for opiates.
Meth, which was once a rare sight, has since spread throughout Pennsylvania as reported by physicians, law enforcement agents, and public health outreach personnel. The reality exists in the backdrop of past statistics showing that opioids, and not meth, ruled the streets in cases involving drug overdose deaths.
Today, meth use in Pennsylvania seems to be taking an upward trend as observed by the medical director at Temple University Episcopal Hospital’s crisis response center, meth use has been rising to significant levels.
In conclusion, there are lots of unanswered questions to rationalize the shifting dynamics, although official reports believe that the high rates if opioid-related deaths has influenced drug users to switch to meth.
