Pittsburgh drug trafficking gang members plead guilty in federal case

Three men pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in connection with a large-scale investigation into the Pittsburgh street gang, Darccide/Smash 44 (DS44), U.S. Attorney Scott Brady announced Tuesday.

Keevan Jackson, 21, of Pittsburgh, Michael Broglie, 51, of West Virginia and Jesse Tedrow, 27, of West Virginia each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute of heroin and fentanyl.

Jackson was involved in the distribution of 40 grams or more of the narcotics, according to a news release. He served as a runner for co-conspirator Christopher High Smith.

Broglie and Tedrow both purchased distribution-level quantities of the drugs for co-conspirator Ronald Williams, investigators said.

Jackson, Broglie and Tedrow are among 37 defendants indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh over the summer. They 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 June 2019.

The investigation was conducted by the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, targeting Darccide/Smash 44’s drug-trafficking activity in and around Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood. In February 2019, the case became a federal wire investigation, which continued through June 2019.