A Munhall man found in 2018 with a large garbage bag filled with bricks of heroin, and a little more than $25,000 was sentenced Tuesday to serve almost 8 years in federal prison for possession of heroin with intent to distribute it and illegal gun possession, federal authorities said.
Senior U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose sentenced Charles Payne, 26, to 7.5 years.
He was also ordered to serve six years of supervised release after the prison sentence .
He was indicted by a Pittsburgh federal grand jury in March 2018 and pleaded guilty in November.
Payne has been in detention since arrested.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said Allegheny County police helped Munhall police search a Martha Street house.
Police said they found Payne, the heroin, money and gun in the house.
Lab tests revealed that the substances seized during the search were heroin and a type of fentanyl.
Police also found two digital scales, three boxes of ammunition, a laser sight and a loaded stolen handgun. Payne had previously been convicted on a state charge for drug trafficking and was prohibited from possessing any firearms.
According to prosecutors, Payne agreed to forfeit a .45-caliber pistol and ammunition, more than $25,000 in cash and all drugs and paraphernalia in 2018.
