Braddock Felon Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison for Drug and Firearm Crimes

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 100 months of imprisonment on his conviction of drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV imposed the sentence on Jeffrey Lee Hancock Jr., 41, of the Braddock neighborhood of Pittsburgh, on September 2, 2025.

According to information presented to the Court, on April 25, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pennsylvania State Police executed a search warrant of Hancock’s residence in connection with an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking activity by Hancock and two co-conspirators. As investigators entered the residence, Hancock threw a bag containing approximately 50 bricks of fentanyl from the second story window of the home. Inside the residence, investigators also found an additional 200 bricks of fentanyl and $2,902, as well as two handguns, which Hancock was prohibited from possessing based upon his prior felony convictions. Hancock admitted to conspiring to distribute a total of between 280 and 400 grams of fentanyl.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Stickman noted Hancock as a “recidivist drug trafficker and illegal gun user” who was involved in “poisoning our community” through “the dark and dangerous drug trade.” Judge Stickman stated that a sentence of 100 months—at the high end of the advisory guideline range—reflects the serious nature of Hancock’s crimes and should signal to others that a “career of crime [will be] met with stiff federal time.”

Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hancock.