An Allegheny County man has been sentenced to 5½ years behind bars for plotting to sell cocaine for a prison drug smuggling ring while on probation for a prior heroin-dealing conviction, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Dorianne Harris, 28 — whom officials linked to residences in Monroeville as well as Munhall, Homestead and other parts of Allegheny County — was convicted of conspiring to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine — or more than 1 pound — between January 2017 and 2019, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman said.
Harris was nabbed in January 2019 for his role in far-reaching cocaine ring — along with four dozen other suspects indicted by a federal grand jury — after serving out a five-year prison sentence for a prior conviction of conspiring to sell more than 100 grams of heroin, court records show.
U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan sentenced Harris to five more years in prison for the latest cocaine conspiracy conviction and an additional six months for violating the terms of his probation. The judge ordered Harris to serve the two prison terms consecutively.
The FBI, Internal Revenue Service and Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation into Harris in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. The efforts were funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which provides money for federal and state agencies to work together on major drug trafficking cases.
Other agencies assisting in the arrest and prosecution of Harris included U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security, the Postal Inspection Service, district attorneys of Beaver and Erie counties, state troopers and police from Pittsburgh, Munhall, Robinson, McKees Rocks, Stowe and Etna.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted the case.
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