Apollo man pleads to federal marijuana charges

An Apollo man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to conspiring to sell more than 50 kilograms of marijuana that he had shipped from Colorado, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Stephen Michael Lerch, 27, received numerous parcels of marijuana and vaping cartridges containing THC from a source in Denver over a five-month period ending in October 2018.

U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said the arrangement “began to unravel when United States Postal Inspectors searched a parcel Lerch had mailed to his source. The parcel contained $27,500.”

Postal inspectors then searched the source’s Denver apartment and found “large amounts of cash and drug evidence,” Brady said.

The Pittsburgh Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration was notified and started to investigate Lerch.

An Oct. 2, 2018, search of Lerch’s residence turned up several pounds of marijuana, two guns, a vacuum sealer, a money counter and more than $25,000 in cash, Brady said.

In addition to the plea agreement, Lerch also agreed to forfeit a Subaru Crosstrek and more than $100,000 obtained from drug trafficking, according to Brady.

Lerch’s sentencing is scheduled for March 25. He faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $2 million. The court released Lerch on bond until sentencing.