Source: United States Department of Justice News
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dexter Yard, age 34, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that on August 17, 2021, in Luzerne County, Yard distributed fentanyl and cocaine, possessed methamphetamine for further distribution, possessed a .38 Special handgun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Yard is a previously convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The investigation was conducted by the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting 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 gun
violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Under federal law, for the drug charges, Yard faces a maximum sentence of twenty years, a term of supervised release and a fine. For the firearms charges, Yard faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, which must run consecutive to any other sentence, a maximum sentence of life, a term of supervised release and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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