Seven Philadelphia Defendants Could Face Life In Prison For Selling Drugs Near Middle School
It isn’t just fear mongering when people tell you that you can get life in prison for drug crimes, but context is everything. No one gets a life sentence just for carrying a baggie with two oxycodone pills in their backpack. For the truly draconian sentences to apply in crimes that do not involve murder or human trafficking, aggravating factors must apply. A sentence of life in prison is an option in some drug trafficking cases, not all. It depends whether the defendants have prior convictions and whether aggravating factors are present, such as if the defendants illegally possessed weapons in addition to selling illegal drugs, and if the drug trafficking took place near a school. It also depends whether the defendants took a plea deal or received a guilty verdict at a jury trial. If aggravating factors are making your drug case worse than it could be, contact a Pittsburgh drug crime lawyer.
PCP is Deadly Whether You Call It Angel Dust or Embalming Fluid
In most of the world, even in most of the United States, phencyclidine (PCP) is not one of the drugs you most have to worry about turning up unannounced in the drug supply. According to Vice, it is even so hard to find it on the dark web that you can only get it if you know what you’re doing. Philadelphia, however, is a PCP hotspot. Most people consume it in the form of a much more expensive cigarette or joint. They either sprinkle PCP powder onto the tobacco or cannabis inside, hence the name angel dust, or dip the rolled cigarette in PCP liquid, hence the slang name embalming fluid. There are even Internet rumors about people dipping cigarettes in real embalming fluid, the type used by funeral homes and frog dissecting enthusiasts; this embalming fluid is a mix of formaldehyde and alcohol. PCP is a dissociative anesthetic, a disgraced cousin of ketamine. As such, it is a schedule II controlled substance.
In the News
In early 2024, a drug trafficking organization based out of a house in Port Richmond, near Memphis Street Academy came to an end. Due to the proximity of the operation to a school, and to the presence of weapons, seven defendants could face life sentences in prison. Two other defendants arrested in connection with the organization have pleaded guilty and could face a maximum sentence of 20 years each. When the FBI executed a search warrant at the residence, they found 20 pounds of methamphetamine, three gallons of liquid PCP, three pounds of crack cocaine, two pounds of powder cocaine, one pound of fentanyl, and 11 firearms.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for your alleged role in the trafficking of PCP or other controlled substances. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Sources:
dailyvoice.com/pennsylvania/bucks/drug-dealer-ran-large-scale-trafficking-org-near-philly-school-feds/
vice.com/en/article/epdy4e/pcp-america-pcp-use-washington-dc
