9-18 month jail term given drug defendant
An Allegheny County man convicted in a jury trial of conspiring to deliver crack cocaine was sentenced Thursday to county jail.
Brandon M. Johnson-Jetter, 36, of Homestead was sentenced to 9 to 18 months in Butler County Prison by Judge William Shaffer in Butler County Court.
His parole will be followed by 3 years of county probation.
Johnson-Jetter was found guilty following a one-day trial before Shaffer Feb. 28, of felony conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. He was also acquitted by the jury of two felony possession with intent charges.
He was initially charged with four felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and one count of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. The conspiracy count of which he was found guilty was later added, and two of the possession with intent counts were later withdrawn before the case went to trial.
Johnson-Jetter's attorney, John Bongivengo, said his client is a military veteran, father of six children and a carpenter by trade and has maintained his innocence throughout the court proceedings.
Following the verdict, Shaffer revoked Johnson-Jetter's $50,000 bail. Bongivengo said this was due to allegations of threats against the co-defendant in the case, who testified during the trial, and nothing has come from that subsequent investigation.
Butler County Drug Task Force filed the charges against Johnson-Jetter after an investigation into suspected heroin and crack cocaine trafficking at an apartment in the 500 block of Hansen Avenue, Lyndora, on Nov. 4, 2016.
Following the execution of a search warrant at the home, police said 69 stamp bags of suspected heroin and 16 baggies of suspected crack were found, and Johnson-Jetter was found carrying $693 in currency.
While at the apartment, investigators spoke to the tenant, Lydia M. Bowman, 43, who admitted she had allowed Johnson-Jetter to use her apartment to sell drugs, documents said.
The arrangement, which had been ongoing for three months, allowed Bowman the chance to earn money for rent by also dealing drugs that Johnson-Jetter supplied, police said.
Bowman previously pleaded guilty to felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance Sept. 5, and was sentenced to 2½ years in the county Intermediate Punishment Program with the first 15 months on house arrest with electronic monitoring on April 5.
