Armed drug dealer busted with 15,000 doses of fentanyl, heroin gets hard time
A Duquesne man will serve more than 20 years in federal prison after he was sentenced on Tuesday for drug and gun offenses.
According to federal court records, Courtney Washington, 31, was found with 15,000 doses of fentanyl and heroin.
He pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl and opted for a jury trial in September on the gun charges. The jury found him guilty on two firearms counts.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, during the execution of a search warrant at his residence in April 2023, Washington unsuccessfully attempted to destroy $45,000 worth of fentanyl in a washing machine.
Investigators also found a loaded and stolen .45-caliber Glock handgun he attempted to hide in the rafters.
Prosecutors were seeking a prison term of 21 to 27 years, while the defense asked for a sentence of 15 years, citing Washington’s childhood and history.
A sentencing brief, however, did not provide any details on that history.
Washington, who previously was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison on a narcotics case, has another pending case in federal court for being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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