By JEFF STITT
Twelve defendants from Allegheny, Lawrence and Westmoreland counties, including a Monessen man, have been charged with drug trafficking following a months-long wiretap investigation into narcotics trafficking in the City of Pittsburgh and greater Allegheny County region.
U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said the indictment is related to a larger investigation into the drug trafficking activities of the 11 Hunnit gang that has allegedly operated in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh and beyond. The gang is accused of running a cocaine ring.
Twenty-two defendants have been charged in four separate but related indictments stemming from the investigation, which was conducted through the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force.
“Every citizen in Western Pennsylvania deserves to live in a community free from the violence and devastation created by drug trafficking,” Brady said. “For too long, the 11 Hunnit gang has terrorized the law-abiding residents of the City of Pittsburgh and the Hill District.
“Through the four indictments of 22 members and associates of 11 Hunnit, we have effectively dismantled this gang and its grip on our city.”
Donald Epps, 65, of New Kensington, as well as Pittsburgh residents Michael Glenn, 57, Gary Wilkinson, 56, Dion Williams, 44, Ivan Upsher, 58, Gerald Bogan Jr., 39, Charles King, 57, and Jeffrey Brown, 50; Michael Turner, 47, of Wampum; and 69-year-old Michael Jones of Monessen are each charged with conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine in the Western District of Pennsylvania, from in and around November 2019 and continuing thereafter until June.
They each face a total possible sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10 million or both.
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