Johnstown Man Sentenced to More Than 7.5 Years in Prison for Trafficking of Heroin, Crack-Cocaine, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court in Johnstown for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, crack-cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Blake Young, 35, pleaded guilty to Count One of the Superseding Indictment before United States Senior District Judge Kim R. Gibson. Following the plea, Judge Gibson sentenced Young to 92 months of imprisonment, to be followed by six years of supervised release.

In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around February 2021 to in and around July 2021, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Young conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute quantities of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, cocaine base in the form commonly known as crack, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Young was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that he distributed to others.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Young. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, Cambria County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Cambria County Sheriff’s Office, Cambria Township Police Department, Indiana Borough Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, Upper Yoder Township Police Department, Richland Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.