Stroudsburg man pleads guilty to trafficking, gun charges
Laurence Cadogan, 33, of Stroudsburg, pleaded guilty on Thursday in U.S. District Court, Scranton, to charges of heroin trafficking and unlawfully possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The plea was made before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, who ordered a pre-sentence investigation to be completed. Sentencing will be scheduled after the submission of a pre-sentence report to the court.
According to U.S. Attorney David J. Freed, Cadogan admitted to possessing with intent to distribute between 60 grams and 80 grams of heroin and unlawfully possessing two firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
On Oct. 26, 2016, in Tannersville, police and federal agents seized more than 3,000 bags of heroin and two firearms during the investigation.
Cadogan, who in making the plea agreed to forfeit the two firearms seized by agents, was indicted by a grand jury in February 2017. The charges against him resulted from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Stroud Area Regional Police Department.
This case was brought as part of a districtwide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the U.S. 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.
This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
The maximum penalty for the gun offense is life in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. The maximum penalty for the drug offense is 20 years in prison a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
