McKeesport man charged by feds in fentanyl overdose death case

A McKeesport man is accused of dealing the fentanyl that caused an overdose death last year, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Rahde “Raw” Williamson, 25, who formerly lived in Duquesne, faces drug and weapons charges stemming from two grand jury indictments returned last week, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said.

One indictment accuses Williamson of plotting to sell at least 400 grams of fentanyl between November 2018 and August.

It also charges him as the sole defendant accused of distributing the fentanyl that killed a person who overdosed in June 2019. Information was not immediately available about the person who died.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid painkiller that can be 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. As little as 2 or 3 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter of blood can be deadly.

The second indictment against Williamson says that on July 15, he illegally possessed ammunition for a 9mm gun while on supervised release. Williamson is prohibited from having guns or ammunition as a felon who has been sentenced to more than a year behind bars.

His prior convictions include pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than one kilo of heroin. Williamson was sentenced in February 2015 to nearly five years in prison, FBI records show.

The newly filed charges carry a possible maximum sentence of up to life in prison and a fine up to $11.25 million, Brady said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with help from Monessen police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Vasquez Schmitt is prosecuting the case.