York County Man Sentenced To 10 Years’ Imprisonment For Drug Trafficking Offenses

HARRISBURG - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Luis Minier, a/k/a 'Cito,' age 26, of York, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on June 22, 2021, to 10 years' imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner for conspiring to distribute over a kilogram of heroin (one kilogram of heroin is the equivalent of approximately 40,000 individual doses) and five kilograms of cocaine.

According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the investigation began with an overdose death in the City of York on December 2, 2017. Investigators connected the death to heroin laced with fentanyl sold by codefendant Lamar Johnson. They further determined that Minier was bringing kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine into York on a weekly basis from September 2017 until December 2017. Police arrested and seized over 700 grams of heroin and a kilogram of cocaine during police searches in December 2017.

Codefendants indicted in this case include:

• Brandon L. Orr, a/k/a 'B Or,' age 27, of York, entered a guilty plea to drug trafficking charges in June 2021, and is awaiting sentencing;
• Lamar Johnson, age 32 of York, entered a guilty plea to drug trafficking charges in June 2021, and is awaiting sentencing; and
• Javiel Snellings, age 26, of York, entered a guilty plea to drug trafficking charges and was sentenced March 31, 2021 to two years of probation.

The case was investigated by the Capitol Safe Streets Task Force, which included representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the York County Drug Task Force, and Springettsbury Township Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney's Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department's renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney's Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce crime.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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