Four men are charged in federal court with drug distribution after federal investigators on Thursday seized more than 75 kilograms of cocaine, 90,000 doses of fentanyl and several guns after executing a series of search warrants.
All of the men charged have previous felony drug convictions that prohibited them from possessing firearms.
Charged were Devlin Clifford, Kenneth Hamlin, Derrick Lyman and Daniel Jackson.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, investigators served sealed federal search warrants at eight locations on Thursday, including five residences — in McKeesport, Monroeville, Murrysville and Penn Hills — and on three vehicles.
It was at Lyman’s home on Jefferson Street in McKeesport, as well as inside his vehicle, where investigators recovered the largest amount of drugs.
There, they said in the affidavit, they found 38 kilograms of suspected cocaine, as well as 1,800 bricks — or 90,000 doses — of fentanyl.
They also recovered a Glock handgun and a Ruger pistol.
Lyman, 59, previously was ordered to serve 20 years in federal prison for drug distribution, including for selling cocaine and heroin.
Investigators said they recovered 13 kilograms of suspected cocaine, an AR-style rifle and a pistol at what they called a stash house used by Hamlin, 58, on Stonecliffe Drive in Monroeville.
In 1999, Hamlin of Monroeville was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy and drug sales. His sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in December 2015. Hamlin currently is on federal supervised release.
At a residence used by Clifford, 46, on Coventry Court in Monroeville, investigators said they found a loaded handgun and 4 kilograms of suspected cocaine.
Clifford had a previous conviction in Pennsylvania for felony drug sales and was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.
At a house on Edinburg Drive in Penn Hills, investigators said they saw Jackson, 46, of Pittsburgh leave from a bedroom window and flee.
He was caught a short time later. Inside, agents recovered 23 kilos of suspected cocaine and a loaded handgun.
Jackson was sentenced in 2001 to serve seven years in federal prison for selling cocaine.
Hamlin, Clifford and Jackson are charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Lyman also is charged with selling fentanyl.
All four men are detained in federal custody pending a detention hearing next week.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2019 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of “Death by Cyanide.” She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.