Omar Bell, Heroin Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2016

A Luzerne County man has been caught up in a massive heroin trafficking conspiracy that has led to several high-profile convictions.

Omar Bell, age 33, of Wilkes-Barre, pleaded guilty on November 10, 2016, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley in Scranton to conspiring with others to distribute large amounts of heroin during February through November 2014.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Bell admitted to regularly obtaining multiple bricks of heroin from Desmond Mercer and his associates and distributing that heroin to customers in Luzerne County. Bell admitted to distributing between 100 and 400 grams of heroin, which is equivalent to between 4,000 and 16,000 retail bags of heroin.

Mercer, the leader of the drug operation, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Shaliek Stroman and Shaquan Murphy, two key associates of Mercer, were each sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for their roles in the conspiracy. Another member of the conspiracy, Antuan Jamison, was sentenced to five years in prison.

Judge Munley scheduled Bell’s sentencing for February 9, 2017. Bell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, and Kingston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa 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.

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