Latone Dunbar, a 25-year-old former Pittsburgh resident, is headed to federal prison for 87 months after being convicted of feeding heroin into the city’s streets and packing heat to protect his operation. Dunbar was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman, IV, on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin, possession with intent to distribute, and brandishing a firearm in connection with drug trafficking.
The takedown traces back to a sprawling federal probe targeting the Darccide/Smash 44, or DS44, gang that’s long claimed turf in Pittsburgh’s South Side. In 2017, the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force launched an aggressive crackdown on narcotics and gun violence tied to the crew. By February 2019, investigators secured a wiretap warrant, intercepting months of damning chatter that placed Dunbar deep in the drug trade’s supply chain.
Court records show Dunbar bought heroin in bulk from co-conspirator Ronald Williams and flipped it to lower-level dealers and users. The operation unraveled on March 8, 2019, when Pittsburgh police raided Dunbar’s home and found a Highpoint rifle alongside nearly four grams of heroin stamped ‘DOPE’—clear evidence of both trafficking and armed protection.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy C. Wiegand and Brendan McKenna led the prosecution, weaving together wiretap transcripts, drug weights, and firearm forensics to seal Dunbar’s conviction. Federal authorities emphasized the dangerous nexus between drugs and guns, noting that weapons like the one found in Dunbar’s possession escalate street violence and embolden traffickers.
The FBI helmed the multi-agency sweep, which pulled in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Allegheny County Adult Probation, Allegheny County Police, the Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s narcotics unit, Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg police, and more. Support also came from law enforcement in Green Tree, Mount Oliver, New York City, Yonkers, U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, and the Postal Inspection Service.
This case was prosecuted under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the Justice Department’s flagship initiative to dismantle major drug and money laundering networks since 1982. With six years of supervised release awaiting him post-prison, Dunbar now faces the long road of accountability—one paved by federal muscle and relentless interagency pursuit.
Related Federal Cases
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- Heroin Killed a York Man: Lattimore Gets 29 Years · Pennsylvania
- Pittsburgh Heroin Dealer Clinton Robinson Gets 8 Years · Puerto Rico
- ‘Bishop’ Chapman Gets 16+ Years for Heroin & Gun Ring · Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia Man Gets 195 Months for Distributing Heroin · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Weapons|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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