WILLIAMSPORT – A transplanted Philadelphian who says his arrest likely saved his life because it was spiraling out of control has been sentenced to 16 years for selling heroin laced with carfentanil that nearly resulted in a death.
Markeese Askew, 28, of Williamsport, was one of three men who admitted partial responsibility for the rash drug overdoses in the Williamsport area in the summer of 2017.
They “destroyed lives and harmed people,” U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann said Thursday when he sentenced Askew to the long jail term followed by six years of supervised release.
The other two, Nathan Crowder Jr., 32, and Wayne Saquon Davidson, 27, each are serving 17½ years.
The reason for the difference, judge explained, is Askew was accused of providing drugs that nearly killed just one man. The other two admitted selling drugs that nearly killed three.
All three pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
They admitted distributing more than 100 grams of a mixture of heroin and carfentanil between October 2016 and July 2017. Carfentanil is a drug developed to tranquilize elephants.
Askew’s sentence is a year longer than the one proposed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin.
She acknowledged Askew was the least culpable of the three but said he continued to sell fentanyl after the near-death incident.
The rash of overdoses peaked in late June 2017 when UPMC Susquehanna in Williamsport reported treating 51 such cases within a 48-hour period.
There were three confirmed deaths at that time but none was attributed to Crowder, Davidson or Askew.
Askew had a troubled childhood and followed three uncles, all drug addicts, from Philadelphia to Williamsport, chief public defender Heidi Freese said.
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He has weapons charges pending in Lycoming County court from a 2017 incident in which gunfire was exchanged in the 700 block of West Fourth Street in Williamsport and a parole violation to deal with.
The length of the federal sentence will be a factor if Askew is offered a plea agreement, First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade said.
A fourth defendant in the federal drug case, Raymond Howard, chose to stand trial and was found guilty of the same conspiracy charge. He is awaiting sentencing.