Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to selling fentanyl, heroin

A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to distributing and possessing heroin and fentanyl in 2018.

Devontay Montaze Green, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing heroin and fentanyl. Montaze also admitted responsibility for distributing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl that resulted in a death.

According to U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung, Green was arrested following a car chase in 2018 in which the FBI worked with a third party to identify him.

Green’s sentencing is scheduled for May 18 before before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Joy Flowers Conti. Green is facing a potential prison term of up to 20 years.

Green remains free on bond while awaiting sentencing.

According to Chung, McCandless police found a person identified in a news release only as “K.K.” dead of a drug overdose in the basement of a home in Allison Park on Oct. 31, 2018. Drug paraphernalia and stamp bags labeled “Hurricane Harvey” and “Burger King” were found near the body.

Using text messages found on K.K.’s phone, the FBI’s Opioid Task Force found texts between K.K. and a third party, in which they discussed buying bundles of a controlled substance from a dealer referred to as “Trey,” later identified as Green.

The next day, the FBI told the third-party to text Green to arrange a buy of the same “Hurricane Harvey” and “Burger King” stamp bags that were recovered at the scene of K.K.’s death. The third party met Green in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood and received the drugs, drug agents watched Green as he got into a silver Lincoln sedan as a passenger. After following Green, police stopped the car. A dashcam video recorded the Lincoln briefly stopped before speeding away and crashing.

Drug agents detained both the driver and Green as they ran from the crash. They found 16 “bricks” of drugs, typically made of 50 packets, most of which bore the “Burger King” stamp, in the car.

FBI chemists confirmed that the “Hurricane Harvey” and “Burger King” bought from Green contained a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, and a toxicologist determined that K.K.’s blood contained a lethal level of both fentanyl and morphine, indicating heroin use.

Police found cell phones in Green’s car that contained text messages matching communications between Green and the third party. Cell site analysis revealed that K.K., the third party and Green were briefly in the same area on the day before K.K.’s body found dead.