Pittsburgh Man Enters Guilty Plea To Cocaine Trafficking

Friday, September 20, 2024, 6:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent New,

PITTSBURGH, PA.- On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, Dirk Barfield, Jr., 38, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, appeared in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Colville to one count of Possession with Intent Distribute Cocaine.

     According to U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan and documents filed with the court, in September 2022, Barfield was the subject of a joint narcotics investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police.

     During the investigation, Detectives conducted surveillance and uncovered that Barfield would travel from his Pittsburgh residence in his Maserati to distribute cocaine throughout the Pittsburgh area and surrounding communities.

Search Warrant

     Following conducting surveillance on September 13, 2022, Federal and State law enforcement agencies executed a court-authorized search warrant at Barfield’s Pittsburgh residence. When law enforcement announced their presence and attempted to make entry into the residence, Barfield threw bags of suspected controlled substances from a second-floor window onto the yard.

     Detectives recovered the bags from the yard and made entry into the residence, where, following a waiver of his constitutional rights, Barfield admitted to throwing roughly around two ounces of cocaine and one ounce of crack cocaine out the window.

Prior Narcotics Trafficking Conviction

     At the time Barfield was committing the distribution of cocaine, he was serving a term of federal supervised release for a prior conviction of a narcotics trafficking charge in the Western District of Pennsylvania.

     Following entering his guilty plea, Judge Colville accepted Barfield’s plea and scheduled sentencing for January 21, 2024. At that time, Barfield faces a maximum federal prison term of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $2 million or both on the narcotics charge and five years on the federal supervised release violation. The actual term of incarceration will be based on the seriousness of the offense and Barfield’s prior criminal history.

     Pending sentencing, Judge Colville revoked Barfield’s bond and remanded him to the custody of the United States Marshals Service.