Swissvale Man Pleads Guilty to Gun and Drug Charges in Project Safe Neighborhoods Case

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Swissvale, PA, pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Brandon Spearman, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts before Senior United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that the defendant possessed a semi-automatic pistol as well as 46 stamp bags of fentanyl and 2.2 grams of crack cocaine.

Judge Ambrose scheduled sentencing for October 29, 2019, at 10 a.m. The defendant is incarcerated pending the sentencing date and the preparation of a Pre-Sentence Report detailing the defendant’s educational, criminal, family, and work histories.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael Leo Ivory is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Penn Hills Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the conviction in this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.