Luzerne County Man Sentenced To 80 Months’ Imprisonment For Distribution Of “Bath Salts”

SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that David Popish, age 41, of Pittston, was sentenced on February 4, 2020, by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley, to 80 months’ imprisonment followed by three years on supervised release for his role in a Luzerne County-based drug conspiracy that obtained and distributed large quantities of alpha-pvp, commonly known as “bath salts,” during 2014 and 2015.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Popish previously pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy by selling alpha-pvp to customers in Luzerne County. Popish was responsible for distributing approximately 300 grams of the drug.

Popish was one of seven people charged by a grand jury in August 2016. That indictment was the fourth wave of arrests connected to alpha-pvp distribution in Luzerne County. In all, 18 people have been charged in the case since July 2013, including two Texas-based suppliers of the bath salts.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police from Luzerne County. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted 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.

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