Columbia County man charged with distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in death | News

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that James Mark Minichella, age 23, of Catawissa,  was indicted on February 19, 2019, by a federal grand jury for drug distribution resulting in death. The case was unsealed following the arrest of the defendant. 

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that on or about August 11, 2017, Minichella knowingly and intentionally distributed and possessed with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl causing the death of another person.  

The charges stem from a joint investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Scranton, the Wyoming County District Attorney’s Office, and the Wyoming County Detectives.  United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski is prosecuting the case.

In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute for drug distribution resulting in death is life imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance is 20 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine.