A former Pittsburgh resident has been sentenced in federal court to more than four years in prison for dealing heroin in the area of a city public housing development.
The 50-month sentence was handed down against William Thomas, 38, of Forsythe Street. Federal prosecutors said Thomas was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin within 1,000 feet of Allegheny Commons, a Pittsburgh Public Housing Authority development.
According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Scott Brady, on June 9, 2018, a Pittsburgh police officer noticed a vehicle parked along the side of the road in Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood in the middle of the night. The engine was running. As the officer approached the vehicle, the officer smelled marijuana and observed a marijuana cigar in the center console.
The two people inside appeared to be unconscious.
After the pair awakened and got out of the vehicle, officers located three unopened, paper-wrapped “bricks” of heroin on Thomas, as well as “a quantity” of crack cocaine.
Officers searched the vehicle and located a stolen Smith and Wesson .40-caliber pistol. It was loaded, including a bullet in the chamber. Thomas also had $169 and a cell phone, which contained drug trafficking communications.
Thomas is to be placed on six years of supervised release after he completes his sentence.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and Pittsburgh police conducted the investigation.
