SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kevin Neysmith, a/k/a Kevin Blackwood, age 45, a resident of Kingston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 160 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Julia K. Munley, for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to the Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus, on September 9, 2022, members of the Lackawanna County Drug Task Force arrested Neysmith in Moosic, Pennsylvania, as he was attempting to make a fentanyl delivery. During the arrest, Neysmith exited his moving vehicle and fled through a parking lot. His car continued to move and struck an unoccupied car. Task Force Officers arrested him as he tried to hide behind a dumpster. Officer seized from Neysmith--and from a compartment in his car--methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, and an unregistered 9-millimeter Canik 55 Model TP9 semi-automatic pistol equipped with a tactical laser.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—Scranton Office, the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office, members of the Lackawanna County Drug Task Force, and the Moosic Borough Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tatum R. Wilson.
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