SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Pablo Valentin, age 44, of Pittston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday to 64 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release, by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, for possession with intent to distribute heroin and felon in possession of firearms offenses.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, on February 7, 2019, Valentin possessed with the intent to distribute a quantity of heroin, along with a digital scale, packaging materials and other items associated with narcotics distribution. Additionally, Valentin, a previously convicted felon, unlawfully possessed two firearms, which were seized pursuant to a search warrant.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Hanover Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffery St John prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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 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.
This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
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