Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty In Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

PITTSBURGH – On March 6, Terrious Harper was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Harper, 29, of Pittsburgh, Pa., pled guilty before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer. Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing to occur on July 29, 2014, at 9:30 a.m.

In support of the guilty plea, the Court was informed that, during 2012 and up to May 2013, Harper was supplied with bricks of heroin on credit by members of a drug-trafficking organization based out of Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood after the members of the organization received the heroin from their out-of-state sources of supply. Over the course of that time period, Harper received hundreds of bricks of heroin and then distributed them in the Pittsburgh area and paid those who supplied him back.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of at least five and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

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

The Drug Enforcement Administration in Pittsburgh and New York, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, the Wilkins Township Police Department, the East Pittsburgh Police Department, the New York Police Department, the Blair County District Attorney's Office, and the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office conducted the investigation leading to the conviction in this case.