Court upholds drug dealer’s sentence

Lingafelt pleaded guilty to charges then moved to withdraw

A federal appeals court has upheld a 60-month prison sentence imposed on a Johnstown woman who initially entered a guilty plea to a drug-related charge, but later attempted to withdraw her plea in light of a new sentencing memorandum issued by the Department of Justice.

Amber Lingafelt, 41, was arrested in 2021 for her part in a multi-state drug trafficking ring led by Mikal Davis of Philadelphia and others.

The government arrested 32 participants allegedly involved in the organization, with most of the participants residing in the Johnstown area.

The investigation began in 2019.

According to an opinion issued Wednesday by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, the federal probe led to George Mazey of Johns­town.

Lingafelt, according to court documents, began using Mazey's phone to contact Davis in an effort to obtain drugs, which she in turn distributed to others.

Lingafelt denied she was distributing the drugs to several other individuals, contending she had only one customer.

In a search of her residence, investigators seized quantities of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine.

Documents noted Lingafelt had a habit of her own and eventually ended up in home detention after failing to complete treatment at Cove Forge Rehabilitation Center in Blair County.

She again relapsed and was incarcerated.

In August 2022, Lingafelt agreed to enter a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine base (crack cocaine) and quantities of heroin and fentanyl.

Her plea also included a waiver of her right to appeal her sentence.

By entering her plea, she faced a mandatory 60-month sentence.

Prior to her sentencing, however, the Department of Justice issued a memorandum stating that prosecutors, when it came to offenses involving crack cocaine, should not advocate for mandatory sentences, but should seek lesser sentences as applied to the distribution of powdered cocaine -- carrying a sentence of only 15 to 21 months.

Lingafelt moved to withdraw her guilty plea in view of the DOJ memorandum.

U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson in Johnstown rejected her attempted withdrawal and sentenced her to the mandatory minimum of five years.

Gibson ruled that the issuance of a memorandum "did not constitute a fair and just reason for withdrawing a plea."

Lingafelt appealed to the 3rd Circuit and her case was reviewed by Judges Kent A. Jordan, Peter J. Phipps and Arianna Freeman.

On Wednesday, the panel rejected her appeal.

In an opinion, the panel outlined acceptable reasons for withdrawing a guilty plea: the defendant now asserted her innocence; the strength of her reasons to withdraw the guilty plea and whether the withdrawal would prejudice the government.

In its review of Lingafelt's request, the appeals court panel pointed out that she did not assert her innocence.

It noted also, "She lacks a strong reason for seeking withdrawal, and the Department of Justice in its memorandum disavowed it was not creating 'any enforceable rights for criminal defendants.'"

It found Gibson's rulings denying the defendant's request to withdraw her plea and to sentence her to a mandatory five years was not an abuse of his power.

The 3rd Circuit opinion stated "there is no miscarriage of justice here traceable to that decision."

Lingafelt is presently in a prison facility in Alderson, W.Va.

Her release date is in December.