SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dimitris Smith, Jr., age 48, of Whitehall, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on July 1, 2026, to life imprisonment by United States District Judge Karoline Mehalchick for distributing fentanyl resulting in death.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Smith distributed a deadly dose of fentanyl on December 11, 2023, in East Stroudsburg, Monroe County. A 38 year old female died after ingesting the fentanyl. Between March 14, 2024, and April 1, 2024, Smith also distributed fentanyl and cocaine to an undercover law enforcement officer. During this time period Smith was on federal supervised release from a prior drug trafficking conviction. On January 26, 2026, Senior United States Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced Smith to 2 years imprisonment, to be served consecutive to the sentence on this case, for the supervised release violation. This is Smith’s third federal drug trafficking conviction.
During the five-day trial, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office presented testimony of 32 witnesses, including experts in forensic pathology, forensic toxicology, serology DNA profiling, forensic chemistry and historical cell site data. Witness testimony, the victim’s cell phone data and text messages, DNA evidence seized at the crime scene, and CashApp payment records were among the evidence presented that proved Smith was the dealer who supplied the fentanyl that killed the victim.
The FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Jenny P. Roberts and Patrick Bannon prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Middle District of Pennsylvania — U.S. Department of Justice press release.