14th defendant pleads guilty in heroin ring case tied to South Side Street gang

A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to buying and selling large amounts of heroin and fentanyl as part of a drug ring linked to the “DS44” street gang, marking the 14th defendant convicted in the case since last summer, federal prosecutors said .

St. John Williams, 29, who has prior ties to the city’s Lincoln-Lemington and Spring Hill neighborhoods, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said.

Thirteen co-defendants already pleaded guilty since a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted a total of 37 people in connection to the far-reaching bust last June.

The defendants — mostly from Pittsburgh — were charged with conspiring to distribute and distributing more than a kilogram of heroin, at least 400 grams of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, cocaine and crack cocaine from January 2018 through last June .

Thirty-five were from Western Pennsylvania. One was from New York, and one from West Virginia.

Prosecutors said the drug trafficking operation was organized by the Darccide/Smash 44, or DS44, street gang.

Drug activity in and around Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood prompted the initial investigation targeting the alleged gang members in 2017.

A wiretap investigation began in February 2019 and continued through the June indictment.

As part of his guilty plea, Williams admitted to buying large quantities of heroin and fentanyl from conspirator Anthony Jetter, and to allegedly selling the drugs on behalf of Christopher Highsmith.

Prosecutors allege that Highsmith was one of the heroin ring’s leaders. The outcome of his case and several more co-conspirators are pending.

The FBI led the investigation, with help from the state Attorney General’s Office, state troopers and police, probation and sheriffs officers from Allegheny County, Wilkinsburg, Green Tree, Mt. Oliver, Yonkers and New York City. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Postal Inspection Service assisted.

Williams faces a maximum possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy C. Wiegand is prosecuting the case.

U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 22.