PITTSBURGH – Two people have been sentenced to prison for methamphetamine violations that were uncovered during a nine-month wiretap investigation into drug trafficking in and around Clearfield, Jefferson and Allegheny counties, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Monday.
U.S. District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand imposed the sentences on Ryan Schoening, 33, formerly of Rockton, and Darren Douglas, 38, of Big Run, during separate hearings.
Schoening has been sentenced in federal court to 105 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release and Douglas to 60 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.
According to information presented to the court, Schoening received over 10 pounds of methamphetamine from suppliers located in California between July of 2020 and August of 2021, which he distributed to local customers.
Schoening also received more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine that was transported by vehicle from Houston, Texas, by an alternate supplier between November of 2020 and April of 2021, which he also distributed to local customers.
The court was informed that Douglas was a methamphetamine distributor who obtained between 1.5 kilograms and five kilograms of methamphetamine as part of a large-scale methamphetamine distribution conspiracy and redistributed it to methamphetamine users.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Lusty prosecuted both cases on behalf of the government.
Olshan commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Services, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Police, and Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecutions of Schoening and Douglas, in which the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office and Clarion Borough Police Department also assisted.
These prosecutions are part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.