Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

PITTSBURGH, PA – A former resident of Indiana, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 84 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his convictions on a federal narcotics charge, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

 

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Walter Porter, age 46. Porter was detained after his initial appearance and will remain detained as he begins to serve his sentence. Porter was on federal supervised release for a drug crime when he committed the offense he was sentenced for today.

 

According to information presented to the court, On April 14, 2016, Walter Porter was stopped in a maroon Hyundai Elantra. Mr. Porter was seated next to a green bag. Inside the green bag, Indiana Police found a bag of a white material within a Big Puncture Seal Tire Repair hideaway can. The Pennsylvania State lab tested the substance and revealed that it was approximately 3 grams of a crack cocaine, Scheduled II controlled substance.

 

Porter had a previous state conviction for an armed robbery and a prior felony federal cocaine trafficking conviction. As a result, he faced sentencing as a Career Offender.

 

Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Lanni is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Indiana Borough Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.