Cambria County Man Sentenced to Probation for Participating in Drug Conspiracy
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 17, 2014 |
JOHNSTOWN, PA—A resident of Elmora, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to two years’ probation on his conviction of conspiracy to manufacture and possess marijuana plants, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Gerald F. Knee, 62.
According to information presented to the court, in the spring of 2011, Knee conspired to manufacture and possess with the intent to distribute less than 100 marijuana plants. In addition, evidence presented to the court at the time of Knee’s guilty plea reflected that Knee conspired with George M. Lowmaster and others to grow marijuana plants with the intent to facilitate and promote Lowmaster’s drug distribution organization.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the joint task force, headed by the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Knee. Other agencies participating on the task force include the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Cambria County District Attorney’s Office, Carrolltown Police Department, Patton Police Department, Ebensburg Police Department, Portage Police Department, and Paint Township Police Department.