WILKES-BARRE — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.

WILKES-BARRE - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Andrew Perez, age 31, formerly of Allentown, pleaded guilty on April 8, 2019, before U.S. District Court Senior Judge A. Richard Caputo to conspiracy to distribute heroin.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Perez admitted to participating in a conspiracy to distribute between 700 grams and one kilogram of heroin (which is equivalent to 28,000 to 40,000 individual doses of heroin), as well as additional amounts of  crack cocaine, in the Monroe County area between May and July 2015.  Perez was one of eleven individuals indicted by a grand jury in July 2015 and charged with conspiring to distribute heroin, powder cocaine and crack cocaine in the Monroe County area.

Judge Caputo ordered a presentence report to be completed.  Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. 

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.

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.       

This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce crime.

This prosecution is also part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum penalty under federal law is up to forty years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

 

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