Drug dealer's 10-year prison sentence includes 1 month hiatus from confinement

A Clairton man convicted of running a major drug trafficking operation in Westmoreland County has been granted a one month hiatus from prison.

Lindsey R. Wright, 42, who was sentenced late last week to serve up to 10 years in prison, will be released to house arrest before his newly imposed 10-year prison sentence is to resume.

According to an addendum to that sentence made public on Monday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger allowed Wright to be released from jail for 30 days before he is required to return to the county lockup to begin serving the balance of his state prison sentence.

During those 30 days, Wright will be confined to his home and have his whereabouts monitored by the county’s probation department. He is also barred from consuming drugs and alcohol and ordered to not possess a firearm or weapon of any kind during his house arrest.

Defense attorney Michael DeMatt said the month-long jail reprieve was part of a negotiated plea bargain finalized last week. Wright pleaded guilty to two charges that he operated a corrupt organization and two drug-related offenses in return for a minimum sentence of 58 months to 10 years in prison. Twelve additional drug-related charges were dismissed.

Wright had been in jail since his arrest in 2017 in lieu of a $1 million bond.

He was still in jail as of late Monday afternoon awaiting verification by county probation officials of the Pittsburgh-area home where will live for the next month.

“He hasn’t seen his kids and he’s looking forward to spending time with his family and getting his life in order before he goes back into prison,” DeMatt said.

Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Prosecutors said Wright was one of three major heroin suppliers when he was arrested in May 2017. Police charged Wright with distribution of large quantities of heroin to a man who is still awaiting trial on charges for distributing it to six low-level dealers in the county. A co-defendant testified during Wright’s June 2017 preliminary hearing that he purchased between 100 and 200 bricks of heroin monthly from Wright and brought it into Westmoreland County for sale. The pair started working together in mid-2016, according to testimony.

Krieger in February ruled a police search of a vehicle stopped in April 2017, in which Wright was a passenger, was illegal. Police claimed they found drug paraphernalia in the vehicle and charged Wright and another man with drug offenses.

The judge ruled that police testimony that explained the traffic stop was not supported by cameras that recorded the events along the Pennsylvania Turnpike that led to the vehicle search. Police testified the stop and search was initiated after Wright’s vehicle was observed crossing lanes of traffic just before entering a tunnel.

The judge ruled video from the police car did not support that testimony, determined the search was illegal and barred prosecutors from using drug evidence found as a result of the traffic stop.