June 25, 2015

Exeter Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Crack Cocaine at Casino

SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Sekou Lashley, age 36, of Exeter, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Scranton to a federal charge of distributing crack cocaine at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Plains Township, Pennsylvania, on March 19, 2015.

According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Lashley was arrested and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in Scranton in May. The defendant pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion. The government filed a plea agreement which is subject to the approval of the Court.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Hobart.

In this case, the maximum penalty under federal law for distributing cocaine is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $1,000,000 fine.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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.

Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.