Cincinnati Man Sentenced To 96 Months For Dealing Heroin

CINCINNATI – Joshua Walker, 24, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 96 months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute a measurable amount of heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Donald J. Soranno, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division, and Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.

According to court documents, on or about March 23, 2014, undercover officers observed Walker engage in several traffic violations. Officers continued to follow the defendant, and after he parked his car, they approached his vehicle. When Walker saw the officers walking toward him, he turned around, got back into his car, locked his vehicle and refused to open his door.

Officers eventually removed Walker from the vehicle and observed a pistol on the driver’s seat, along with a bag containing approximately 5.88 grams of heroin. The defendant had nearly $2,000 on his person and a digital scale was discovered in his glove compartment.

Walker pleaded guilty on March 24, 2015 to one count of possession with intent to distribute a measurable amount of heroin and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by ATF and the Cincinnati Police Department, as well as Cincinnati Branch Chief Anthony Springer, represented the United States in this case.