Arizona Woman Sentenced To 92 Months In Prison For Conspiracy To Distribute And Distribution Of Fentanyl

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced Tyla Griffin, age 36, of Phoenix, Arizona, to 92 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and distribution of fentanyl.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Griffin relocated from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Phoenix, Arizona in or about January 2020. Once settled in Arizona, she and co-conspirator, Davon Beckford, developed a relationship with an Arizona source of supply for fentanyl pills.  Griffin then conspired with Beckford and others to sell fentanyl pills to drug dealers formerly known to them throughout Luzerne County.  Griffin distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills via the U.S. Postal Service to drug associates in Pennsylvania from Arizona.

Griffin was indicted by a grand jury in Scranton on February 15, 2022.  She appeared in federal court in Scranton on February 28, 2023, and plead guilty to her role in the fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.  Davon Beckford was sentenced by Judge Mariani on January 24, 2025, to a term of 240 months in prison.  Beckford plead guilty to the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.

The charges stem from a joint investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Scranton, and the Wilkes-Barre Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski 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 fentanyl. 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 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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