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

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced that Brian Pena Villanueva, age 38, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on July 14, 2022, by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to 48 months’ imprisonment for drug trafficking.  

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, on January 7, 2022, Villanueva pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of a substance containing fentanyl.  In July 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant for two vehicles associated with Villanueva and two hotel rooms in Cumberland County. During the search, law enforcement officers seized over 3,800 bags of fentanyl.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the York County Drug Task Force, and the Fairview Township Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom prosecuted 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 and other opioids. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin and opioid 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 was also 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.

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