Jury Convicts Two Harrisburg Men Of Cocaine Trafficking

     The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that two Harrisburg men were convicted by a federal jury for conspiracy and distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine.

     According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, on May 8, following a two-day trial before Senior U.S. District Court Judge William Caldwell in Harrisburg, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts against Dawan Maynard, age 41, and Michael Morris, age 46. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
Following the verdict, the defendants filed a motion to correct the verdict and interview the jurors relating to the amount of drugs and when they were distributed. On Tuesday, May 14, Judge Caldwell denied the defendant’s motion.

     Maynard, Morris and a third man, Corry Matthews, were indicted in October 2012 after a three-year investigation spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with the Dauphin County Drug Task Force.

     The evidence showed that the three defendants were involved in a violent drug trafficking enterprise from 2009 through 2012 in Dauphin County which distributed and possessed 500 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine. Maynard and his co-conspirators also used threats of violence and intimidation to acquire cocaine from other area drug traffickers. 

     Matthews pleaded guilty in January 2013 and is awaiting sentencing.     
 
     The case is part of an on-going coordinated effort by multiple law enforcement agencies including the Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division, Middletown Bureau Police Department, Lower Paxton Township Police Department, the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Consiglio.

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

     In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is forty years imprisonment for the defendants and a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. Each defendant also faces a mandatory minimum period of incarceration of five years.

     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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