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Ricardo "PR" Carrion, 42, was sentenced to 19 years and four months behind bars by a federal judge on Tuesday, Nov. 29, US Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in a statement.
He was previously convicted of multiple drug trafficking and conspiracy charges related to the crack and heroin empire he ran from Kensington, officials said.
According to evidence submitted during his trial, Carrion was the supplier for a sprawling narcotics organization that sold heroin stamped with the word "funeral" — a marketing ploy to advertise the drug's "potency and lethality," Romero said.
Over the course of the investigation, federal authorities say they "repeatedly" watched Carrion distribute large bags of contraband to "stash houses." Between 2018 and his arrest, officials estimate Carrion distributed "thousands and thousands of doses of heroin and crack cocaine" throughout Philadelphia from his den in Kensington.
The sentence on Tuesday came after a long and dramatic trial in which Carrion threatened one of the jurors, prosecutors said. In another episode, Carrion demanded the jurors' personal information from the judge after they returned a guilty verdict, according to Romero.
“This years-long drug trafficking enterprise impacted more than just this one block in one neighborhood; it left a path of destruction across Kensington and throughout Philadelphia,” she said.
“This sentence sends a clear message that, in order to halt the flow of deadly drugs into our communities, our Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting prolific drug dealers pedaling poison to those suffering from addiction.”
Carrion is currently held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, Bureau of Prisons records show.
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