Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to dealing heroin while on probation for drug trafficking

A Pittsburgh man already serving probation for a drug trafficking conviction pleaded guilty to heroin distribution charges, federal prosecutors said.

Davee Ward, 29, who has ties to Mt. Oliver, admitted to possessing and intending to distribute heroin in July 2016 — when he was on supervised release from a prior conviction for selling heroin, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said.

Separately, in 2011, Ward and more than a dozen others were charged in what prosecutors described as a roundup of “mid-level drug dealers.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted the case with help from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Pittsburgh police.

For his guilty plea this week, federal guidelines allow for a maximum total sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $2 million.

Ward faces up to an additional three years in prison for violating his probation.

U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 20.