A Lancaster city heroin dealer will served at least 16 months in state prison for selling to a police informant in 2014.
Lancaster County Judge David Ashworth ordered a sentence on the high end of state guidelines for 23-year-old Donte Parker.
Parker – known to his buyers as “Heart” - will serve 16 months to 3 years in prison, followed by 3 years of probation.
Judge Ashworth also ordered that any future crimes or violations committed in Lancaster County by Parker be heard by him.
At sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Maria Cusick said Parker wasn’t an addict; he sold drugs strictly to make money.
After a February trial, a jury convicted Parker of felony drug-dealing in less than an hour.
Assistant District Attorney Maria Cusick called witnesses who testified that Parker twice sold baggies of heroin to an informant in mid-2014 on Lancaster city streets. An undercover police sergeant was present when the sales were made.
The sting was conducted by Lancaster city police’s Selective Enforcement Unit.
Parker used his cellphone to arrange the sales and meeting places with the informant. The informant knew Parker as “Heart.”
Lancaster city police Det. Eric McCrady and Officer James Boas filed the charges.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright