PITTSBURGH – A federal felon has been sentenced in federal court to an additional one year and one day of incarceration in the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for violating his supervised release, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Jamar Lorenzo Harper, age 41, of Homestead, PA 15120.
According to court documents, Harper previously served a 10-year federal prison sentence for his involvement in heroin trafficking. Information presented to the court indicated that on Dec. 7, 2021, Harper went to his former girlfriend’s house and entered without her permission. While there, he struck her in the face and head, causing swelling, bleeding, cuts and scratches before stealing her purse. The victim was treated for her injuries by local EMS and at area hospitals.
The victim did not want to pursue the assault charges filed by the Jeannette Police Department, so they were dismissed in Westmoreland County. Despite this, federal prosecutors sought Harper’s incarceration for violating his federal supervision. Facing a federal violation guideline range between 51 and 63 months, the Defendant agreed to admit his actions and requested that Judge Bissoon impose the agreed-upon sentence. The defendant told the Court that he apologized to the victim for “putting my hands” on her, indicated that he was taking anger management classes in jail, and stated that he believed the agreed-upon sentence to be appropriate for his regrettable actions.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Bissoon considered the victim’s request that the defendant not be sentenced to prison and stated that after taking a “holistic” view of the entire matter, the sentence imposed was sufficient, but not greater than necessary. Judge Bisson also ordered the United States Probation Office to supervise the Defendant for six years after he is released from the BOP and ordered Harper to pay $8,162.50 for the victim’s medical bills.
Assistant United States Attorney Ross E. Lenhardt prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Jeannette Police Department and the United States Probation Office for their work leading to the successful prosecution of Harper.