Wilson

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A city man cited by victims as a leader in a drug- and sex-trafficking ring was sentenced Tuesday morning to 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment in a state correctional institute after withdrawing his petition to withdraw his guilty plea.

Quincy James Wilson, 48, who appeared in Blair County court alongside defense attorney Joseph Addink, confirmed for President Judge Wade A. Kagarise that he wanted to withdraw his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and move forward with sentencing.

First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith made no objections and reminded the court of the constraints placed around which plea offer Wilson could accept.

The prosecution originally offered Wilson two plea offers, with one offer of 8 to 10 years’ incarceration only being available if he were to cooperate with them and provide testimony against his co-defendants at trial. Without Wilson’s cooperation, his sentence would be 10 to 20 years’ incarceration.

When asked by Kagarise if this was his understanding of the agreement, Wilson said it was.

Wilson has gone back and forth on cooperating with the prosecution. He never testified or provided a statement for the joint jury trial of his co-defendants Derrick A. McNeal and Tony D. Ross in January. Then, before the jury trial of Donald “The Rev” Dargan was set to begin in late November, Wilson appeared in front of Kagarise to say he would no longer be providing testimony in the case.

As Sean Lamont Atkins took a plea deal in May, there are no other opportunities for Wilson to aid the prosecution.

Wilson was facing a litany of charges across five separate but related cases, including felony counts of rape, kidnap, involuntary servitude, human trafficking and possession with intent to deliver, as well as misdemeanor counts of intimidating a witness, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

As part of the agreement, Wilson pleaded guilty to four felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, two felony counts of criminal conspiracy engaging in possession with intent to deliver, single felony counts of involuntary servitude, corrupt organizations and conspiracy to commit human trafficking, as well as a single misdemeanor count of intimidating a witness.

Wilson offered no comment before Kagarise sentenced him to 10 to 20 years’ incarceration in a state correctional institute, with credit for time served since Dec. 31, 2021. Wilson was also ordered to pay $1,800 in fines and to not have contact with any of the case’s named victims.

All remaining charges across Wilson’s five cases were dismissed. Kagarise then dismissed Wilson’s petition to withdraw his guilty plea as moot.

The charges were brought against Wilson after Altoona police became aware of a human-trafficking ring being operated in the city in December 2020. Wilson was cited by victims as a leader in the ring and would bribe female victims with drugs if they slept with various men. Multiple victims stated their reluctance to come forward, fearing retaliation from the group.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.