Elyria man pleads guilty to fentanyl trafficking in Pennsylvania federal court

Five years after he and two other men were charged with a drug trafficking conspiracy in central Pennsylvania, an Elyria man has pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge in federal court. Damonico Henderson, 59, of Pemberton Drive, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, according to federal court records. Chief Judge Matthew Brann accepted Henderson's guilty plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation, according to court records. Prosecutors and the defense agreed to a sentence of 10 years in prison, followed by five years of parole, according to a plea agreement filed with the court signed by Henderson, his attorney and a federal prosecutor. The maximum penalty was life in prison and up to $10 million in fines, according to court records. Criminal complaints detailing the case against Henderson were sealed, but federal prosecutors said and PennLive.com previously reported that Henderson and Pennsylvania residents Terry Harris and Anthony Bressi sold more than 600 grams of fentanyl, carfentanil and fentanyl-like compounds throughout central Pennsylvania. Agents from the FBI's Cleveland office searched Henderson's house at 353 Pemberton Drive in Maslyk Estates, seizing cars and undisclosed evidence on June 15, 2019. The following month, federal prosecutors for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that the three had been indicted on multiple federal drug charges. The trio allegedly sold the synthetic painkillers fentanyl and carfentanil illegally, and other illegal substances, over a four-year period from 2015 to 2019. The investigation involved the FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police, federal prosecutors said. Federal prosecutors asked a court to forfeit nearly $487,000 worth of property owned by Henderson, including two cars, four Rolex watches and a large amount of expensive jewelry. Harris, Henderson's co-defendant, pleaded guilty to an identical charge on Thursday, and also is awaiting a scheduled sentencing hearing, according to federal court records. It appears Bressi still is awaiting trial.