Former Pittsburgh Man Sentenced For Running Drug Store Out His Jail Cell
Sunday, February 23, 2025, 8:45 A.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
PITTSBURGH, PA.- On Thursday, February 20, 2025, Lafon Ellis, 30, formerly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and currently incarcerated at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Bisson to 24 months in federal prison on his conviction for Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Institution.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti and documents filed with the District Court, throughout 2023, Ellis repeatedly possessed contraband and violated federal regulations through his conduct while imprisoned at the Allegheny County Jail.
On Multiple Occasions Corrections Officers Find Contraband
On February 17, 2023, corrections officers searched Ellis’s jail cell and uncovered a Schedule I controlled substance commonly known as “K2.” On May 3, 2023, a search of Ellis’s cell uncovered a piece of paper, and after testing, revealed K2 soaked throughout the piece of paper. Also, during this search, officers uncovered sixteen intact Suboxone strips and 57 partial Suboxone strips.
On August 9, 2023, a search of Ellis’s cell uncovered eight sheets of K2. A search of his cell on December 10, 2023, uncovered marijuana, K2 sheets, and Suboxone strips.
Additionally, Ellis was the subject of about two dozen misconduct reports related to Ellis refusing to obey orders by corrections staff, threatening jail staff, engaging in physical altercations with corrections staff, fighting with other inmates, threatening to kill a correctional officer, and possessing a nail that was fashioned into a weapon, commonly known as a “shank.”
