Defendant Sentenced to 105 Months in Prison for Heroin and Methamphetamine Trafficking

SCRANTON—A Schuylkill County man was sentenced to 105 months in prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed heroin and methamphetamine in the area. Derek Mountz, 35, of Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo on May 6, 2019, after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin and more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

As part of the conspiracy, Mountz and his co-conspirators distributed heroin and methamphetamine in the Schuylkill County area in 2016. One hundred grams of heroin is equivalent to approximately 4,000 retail bags of heroin.

Mountz’s guilty plea was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police in Schuylkill County. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of a renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

The case was also brought as part of a district-wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the U.S. 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.

Mountz’s sentence will be followed by four years of supervised release. The investigation and prosecution of this case demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement agencies to reducing violent crime and making our communities safer.

The case highlights the importance of collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in addressing the heroin epidemic and other violent crimes in our communities.

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