Allegheny County Armed Drug Trafficker Sentenced To Federal Prison

Saturday, July 19, 2025, 8:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

PITTSBURGH, PA.- A 31-year-old Duquesne, Pennsylvania, man, will be spending over the next two decades in federal prison after being sentenced on Tuesday on his convictions of federal drug trafficking and firearms offenses.

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Courtney Washington, Jr., 31, of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand to 248 months in federal prison, to be followed by six months of supervised release after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and being convicted of federal firearms offenses.

     In September 2024, a Federal Jury for the Western District of Pennsylvania found Washington guilty of two counts of federal firearms violations, including being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, Convicted Felon. Prior to the commencement of the trial, Washington pleaded guilty to Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Fentanyl; and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Fentanyl.

According To Charging Documents And Evidence Present At Trial

     According to charging documents and evidence presented at trial, during an ongoing narcotics investigation, Washington had been identified as a large-scale fentanyl trafficker. On April 17, 2023, federal and state law enforcement Investigators executed a court-authorized search warrant at Washington’s Duquesne residence. As Investigators instructed Washington to exit his home, Washington unsuccessfully attempted to destroy the illicit narcotics by placing them inside a washing machine, with Investigators ultimately finding over 15,000 single-dose bags of fentanyl/heroin and loose fentanyl with an estimated street value of $45,000 inside the washing machine.

     Investigators also located approximately six feet away from the fentanyl packed washing machine, a loaded, stolen .45-caliber Glock handgun that Washington attempted to hide in the rafters above the washing machine.

     Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from owning or possessing a firearm and ammunition. Washington knew that when he possessed the stolen firearm on April 17, 2023, he was a prohibited person due to a prior federal drug trafficking conviction.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Rivetti commended the investigative work of the Allegheny County Police Department, the Duquesne Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which led to the successful prosecution of Washington.