HARRISBURG, Pa. — Four men in Harrisburg were indicted in a seventeen-count indictment on June 7 by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking and firearms charges.
According to United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Devonte Betts, 29, Rodney McMillian, 41, Lamarr Waters, 34, and Tyreese Nealy, 23, all from Harrisburg, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday.
According to the United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that beginning on Aug. 3, 2022 and continuing through May 10, 2023, the four men conspired to distribute and did distribute a significant amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
The indictment also alleges that Betts, Waters and McMillian trafficked firearms, selling at least seven firearms between Oct. 20, 2022, through Feb. 18, 2023.
On the morning of June 8, 2023, in a joint operation among federal, state and local authorities, each of the defendants were taken into custody based on arrest warrants that had been issued.
Authorities also executed multiple search warrants during the operation and seized eight additional firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, 420 fentanyl pills, cocaine, several pounds of marijuana and materials used to process and traffic narcotics.
The four men were arraigned in federal court and their detention was ordered pending further hearings that will take place on June 12, 2023.
The aggregate maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police and the Harrisburg Police Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Miovas, Jr. is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.