Jahkel Lamar, Crack Cocaine Trafficking, PA 2016

Wilkes-Barre resident Jahkel Lamar, 37, is headed to federal prison for 12 years after being caught with nearly a quarter-pound of crack cocaine at a Scranton bus terminal. The bust, which went down on September 1, 2016, marked the end of a short but high-stakes trip from New York City, where Lamar allegedly picked up the drugs before returning to Pennsylvania.

Federal prosecutors in the Middle District of Pennsylvania confirmed Lamar was sentenced on February 14, 2018, by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion. In addition to his 144-month prison term, Lamar will serve four years under federal supervision upon release—time he’ll be watched closely by law enforcement.

Lamar admitted guilt in April 2017, pleading out before Judge Mannion after being indicted in September 2016. Authorities found approximately 127 grams of crack cocaine on his person during the arrest on Lackawanna Avenue—a quantity far beyond personal use and clearly intended for distribution on the streets of Scranton.

The investigation was a joint operation between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Scranton Police Department’s Special Investigations Division. Their work cut off a supply chain feeding into a region already ravaged by opioid and crack addiction, officials say.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. O’Hara handled the prosecution, pushing for accountability under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)—a federal initiative reinvigorated in 2017 under then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The program prioritizes dismantling violent crime networks and disrupting drug distribution in high-risk urban areas.

This case underscores the federal government’s continued crackdown on mid-level drug dealers operating across state lines. For Lamar, the cost of his choices won’t be tallied just in prison time—it’s another brick in the wall of a broader strategy to choke off the flow of narcotics into struggling communities.