Irwin man gets 15 years for role as ringleader of gang's drug operation

An Irwin man who led a large-scale drug trafficking organization in Western Pennsylvania will serve 15 years in prison.

Christopher Highsmith, who was responsible for the distribution of 1,000 to 3,000 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl, pleaded guilty to a single count of drug conspiracy in September before U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV.

The plea agreement called for the 15-year prison term — the mandatory minimum required for the quantity of drugs involved.

Highsmith’s attorney, R. Damien Schorr, wrote in his sentencing memorandum that the advisory guideline range for Highsmith was a minimum of 22 years in prison, but he could have received as much as life.

“Whether it will deter others from committing the same type of crime is open to question. No matter how long Mr. Highsmith is incarcerated, the drug-using population in this region will endure,” Schorr wrote. “Undoubtedly others have already moved to fill the void left by his arrest.

“But this sentence will remove Mr. Highsmith from society for many years, effectively deterring him at least from further criminal conduct and thereby protecting the public.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, an investigation into Darccide/Smash 44, or DS 44, a neighborhood gang operating in and around the South Side, began in 2017.

As part of the drug and gun case, investigators conducted wire taps over four months from February to June 2019, when the federal grand jury handed up an indictment.

A total of 40 people were charged in the case.

Prosecutors said that Highsmith ran the conspiracy and was involved in the acquisition and distribution of heroin and fentanyl — both to other distributors and users.

He also directed lower-level members of DS 44 to deliver drugs, collect payment and maintain financial records, they said.

Highsmith has four previous drug convictions, although he never spent more than 18 months in custody.

Schorr wrote in his sentencing memorandum that his client’s personal story is tragic.

Through the age of 29, Schorr wrote, Highsmith had never had documented employment. Mental illness runs in his family, and Highsmith has been diagnosed as bi-polar, Schorr wrote.

His father is schizophrenic, while his mother is bi-polar. Highsmith smoked marijuana daily and used prescription drugs, as well.

He is one of 17 children, the attorney wrote, and his family background “is one of drug addiction, violence, instability, squalor and poverty.”