Crime & Safety
Fatal Drug Overdose Leads To Federal Grand Jury Indictment Against Montco Man
Steven Pierro, 34, of Plymouth Meeting, is one of three Pennsylvania men charged in connection with a fentanyl related death.
SCRANTON, PA — A federal grand jury has indicted three Pennsylvania men in connection with an opioid related overdose death, and one of the defendants is a resident of Montgomery County.
Steven Pierro, 34, of Plymouth Meeting, was one of three defendants charged federally on Sept. 20 in connection with an overdose death that occurred in Lewisburg, Union County, which sits just south of Williamsport, Pa.
The charges were announced this Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Whitemarshfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The other individuals charged in the case were Darryl Elliott, 36, of Sunbury, Pa., and Heather Carper, 34, of Northumberland, Pa.
The indictment, according to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, alleges that the three defendants conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine within the Middle District of Pennsylvania, which ultimately resulted in a drug user's death.
Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Whitemarshfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The identity of the victim was not released by federal prosecutors; grand jury information is typically kept under seal.
The charges, prosecutors stated, stem from a joint investigation involving law enforcement personnel from the FBI in Williamsport, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Sunbury Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
The investigation is part of a districtwide initiative to battle what prosecutors say is an epidemic of fentanyl and heroin use and distribution and is part of an ongoing "coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a news release.
Prosecutors said that if found guilty in federal court, the defendants face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, supervised release and a monetary fine, although exact sentencing could vary depending upon circumstances.
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