Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kaleaf Brown, age 26, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on January 3, 2022, to 140 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner for drug trafficking and weapons offenses. 

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Brown and his codefendants ran a drug trafficking conspiracy from 2018 to the present. Members of the conspiracy were affiliated with a music group named “Never Forget Loyalty” or “NFL.” As a part of their drug trafficking operation, the “NFL” posted videos on YouTube which were filmed in various Harrisburg locales, including the drug involved premises of 1621 Market Street. In the videos, members of the group brandished various weapons, flashed cash, and displayed drugs. In a yearlong investigation, ATF and the local law enforcement conducted a series of searches. During these searches police recovered part of their arsenal, including a machine gun, assault rifles, and various weapons with extended magazines.

Kaleaf Brown was the latest in a series of defendants to be sentenced for drug trafficking and weapons offenses as a result of the investigation.  Brown’s codefendants’ court proceedings are summarized as follows:

• Tyquann Langston, age 26, of Harrisburg, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for his role in the conspiracy to trafficking crack cocaine and other drugs in the City of Harrisburg;
• Donza Brown, age 57, of Harrisburg, was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment for selling crack cocaine and maintaining a drug involved premises at 1621 Market Street in Harrisburg;
• Jaionne Miller, age 21, and Adieas Johnson, age 33, both of Harrisburg, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and weapons offenses. They are awaiting sentencing; and
• Qushawn Brown, age 30, Wesley Garner, age 28, and Anderson Ortiz, age 22, all of Harrisburg, have pleaded not guilty to their role in these offenses. They are scheduled for trial in March 2022.

The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.”

This case was also made possible by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. 

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.        

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