Suspect charged in North Huntingdon drug buy gets 4-10 year prison term

A Wilkinsburg man was ordered to serve up to 10 years in prison for his role in a drug deal thwarted by undercover state agents in the parking lot of a North Huntingdon convenience store.

Harry E. Randall, 29, pleaded guilty to felony counts of conspiracy and drug possession after he was arrested April 29 in a parked vehicle in a lot adjacent to the Sheetz store at the intersection of Route 30 and Carpenter Lane. According to police, Randall was in possession of drugs, cash and a gun.

Authorities said the drug deal was arranged with Larnell Dewit Jones III and an undercover officer and an informant. Police said Jones rode from the Sheetz parking lot to the park-and-ride lot in a Nissan SUV with Randall and a woman who was not charged. According to police, Jones intended to sell 970 stamp bags of heroin and fentanyl. The drugs had a street value of about $3,300, police said.

Randall was found with $545 in cash and a gun, according to court records.

Police said criminal histories for both Randall and Jones revealed they had prior convictions for drug offenses, which make them ineligible to have firearms.

Jones, 31, of Rankin, is awaiting trial on five drug-related counts and two firearms offenses. His trial is scheduled to begin in November. He remains in jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bond.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio sentenced Randall to serve 4 to 10 years in prison.