Morrisdale resident pleads guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine

 

Date: November 15, 2023

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Johnstown, PA — A resident of Morrisdale, PA pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Davin Gower of Morrisdale, PA, pleaded guilty to Count Two of the Superseding Indictment before Senior United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson on November 14, 2023. In connection with the guilty plea, from July 2019 to June 2020, Gower did conspire to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for March 18, 2024. The law provides for a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, a fine of up to $10,000,00, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Gower. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Clearfield County District Attorney's Office, Erie County District Attorney's Office, Millcreek Police Department, Erie Bureau of Police, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.