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Press Release

Two Additional Defendants Sentenced for Roles in Pennsylvania/Ohio Drug Trafficking Ring

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania

This release was issued following the 43-day government shutdown during which the sentencings occurred.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Two individuals from Ohio were sentenced in federal court on their convictions of violating federal narcotics laws in connection with a cross-state drug trafficking ring, First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced. The defendants were among 27 individuals charged through a Superseding Indictment unsealed in March 2023 for their participation in a cross-state narcotics conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, crack, and heroin.

The sentences imposed by United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan were:

Defendant

Age

Residence

Sentence Date

Sentence

Raheem Hurst27Garfield Heights, OhioOctober 15Five months of imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release
Torrence Lyde36Cleveland, OhioNovember 6132 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release

According to information presented to the Court, from in and around December 2022 to March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Hurst conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture of cocaine and crack. From in and around August 2018 to March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Lyde conspired with others to possess with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of a mixture of cocaine, and a quantity of a mixture of cocaine base. The defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others.

With these sentencings, 24 of the 27 defendants charged in the Superseding Indictment now have been sentenced in the case, following guilty pleas from 26 of the defendants.

Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

First Assistant United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation; United States Postal Inspection Service; and other local law enforcement agencies for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of the defendants.

Updated November 17, 2025
Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component
USAO - Pennsylvania, Western