Columbia County Man Sentenced To Six Years In Prison For Drug Trafficking

WILLIAMSPORT – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Gary Shoemaker, Jr., age 40, of Berwick, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on June 15, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann to 72 months’ imprisonment for engaging in heroin trafficking.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Shoemaker pleaded guilty to the offense of distribution of a controlled substance (heroin).  Shoemaker was charged with this offense after he sold heroin to a confidential informant during an investigation targeting drug distribution activity in the Columbia and Montour County areas.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Montour County Drug Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted.

This case was 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.

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