New Kensington Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison and Four Years of Supervised Release for Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to a total of 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Devan Nicholson, 30.

According to information presented to the court, from May 2022 to February 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Nicholson conspired to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. Nicholson was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of fentanyl that he distributed to others.

Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Nicholson. Additional agencies participating in this investigation included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is 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.