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 Ryan Medar, age 38, of Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday to 134 months’ imprisonment and four years of supervised release by United States District Judge Robert D. Mariani for one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and 50 grams and more of methamphetamine.

According to Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus, Medar previously pled guilty to conspiring with his co-defendants Jamie Smicherko, Patrick Russin, Carlos Laurel, and others to distribute controlled substances in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, between October of 2023 to April of 2024.  Medar was responsible for distributing cocaine and over 50 grams of methamphetamine. During the investigation, law enforcement officers utilized a confidential informant to purchase methamphetamine and a pistol from Medar.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), the Kingston Police Department, the Plains Township Police Depart, the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, the Pittston Police Department, the Luzerne County Drug Task Force, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Buchanan prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted, and the President signed in June 2022.  The Act is the first federal statute specifically designed to target the unlawful trafficking and straw-purchasing of firearms.

This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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