Columbia County Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Distribution Resulting In Death

WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Jeffrey Scott Jones, age 62, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann to the distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in the death of a Bloomsburg man in 2016.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Jones sold heroin laced with fentanyl to a Bloomsburg man in July 2016, at which time the victim consumed the heroin and fatally overdosed.  

The case was investigated by the Scott Township Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur is prosecuting the case.

This case is 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin.  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.

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

Jones faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a potential life sentence as well as a maximum fine of $1,000,000. 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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