Cleveland Man Sentenced to Nearly 15 Years in Prison for Firearm and Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine Trafficking Crimes

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Cleveland, Ohio, has been sentenced in federal court to 178 months in prison for committing drug trafficking and firearm crimes, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Senior United States District Judge David Stewart Cercone imposed the sentence on Justin Nichols, 30, also ordering Nichols to serve four years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

According to information presented to the Court, for several months in 2023, Nichols engaged in high-volume, interstate fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine trafficking in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and in Cleveland, also possessing a firearm. At the time, he was on parole in Ohio following several prior convictions and prison sentences for violent gun and drug crimes. Nichols previously pleaded guilty in this case to committing the following crimes on July 3, 2023: (1) possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl and heroin and a quantity of cocaine at an address in Sharon, Pennsylvania; (2) possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 grams or more of heroin, and a quantity of cocaine at a second address in Sharon; and (3) possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

United States Attorney Olshan commended the Mercer County Drug Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Nichols.