A former Altoona man who played a major role in a Baltimore-to-Altoona cocaine ring that operated more than a decade ago has lost Superior Court challenges to his sentence and hefty fine imposed by Senior Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron.

Jermaine Samuel, 46, who presently is incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution in Houtzdale, recently filed two petitions with the state appeals court that challenged the constitutionality of his sentence and the $8,000 fine he was ordered to pay.

He argued that the sentencing court imposed the fine without inquiring into his ability to pay.

However, the court record of the Samuel case indicates that Milliron initially imposed a prison sentence of 46.5 to 103 years on Samuel, which was affirmed by the Superior Court in 2014 and denied further review by the Supreme Court in 2016.

In 2020, Milliron decided to reduce Samuel’s sentence “as a matter of fairness.”

The judge explained that in his opinion, Samuel played a serious role in the operation of the drug ring, but concluded his 46.5-to-103-year sentence was well above the sentences levied on other major participants associated with the organization.

For instance, the alleged ring leader, Damion Floyd of Baltimore, was sentenced to 23.5 to 60 years, while other major players received sentences in the 20-to-40-year range.

Milliron stated with respect to Samuel, “I oversentenced him and I made a mistake.”

When imposing the new sentence, the judge explained that Samuel’s role in the organization was serious, and “he was closer to the top than the bottom, but he was not at the complete top and the guys who were there, got lesser sentences.”

Samuel’s new sentence was 20 to 40 years, but Samuel remained disappointed that it was not lower.

He then filed notices of appeal under the Pennsylvania Post Conviction Relief Act on May 26, 2021, and July 9, 2021.

The Superior Court explained to him that if he challenged the merits of his conviction on charges that included possession with intent to delivery, criminal conspiracy and participation in a corrupt organization, they would be found untimely for not being within the one year period following the initial closing his case, which was in 2014 when the Supreme Court denied further hearing.

The one-year period for such challenges to the merits of his case did not begin with the imposition of his new sentence in 2020, the Superior Court panel stated.

Samuel, in his present appeal, focused on his contention that the weight of the alleged cocaine he sold was used as an enhancement in sentencing but that the weight was not included in the original charging document or determined by the jury that tried him.

Samuel argued the sentencing judge applying a weight factor was thus illegal under recent Supreme Court decisions.

The Superior Court panel that included Judges Judith F. Olson, Mary P. Murray and Jill Beck stated in an opinion Tuesday that they found no error with the sentencing judge’s decision to use weight of the drugs to impact Samuel’s offense gravity score.

The Superior Court judges also clarified that Samuel’s contention that weight of the drugs should have been included in the initial charging document to be without merit. The weight of the drugs is not a factor when it comes to sentencing on the charge of possession with intent to distribute, the panel explained.

Samuel also argued that the statewide grand jury (sitting in Dauphin County) that indicted him had no jurisdiction to recommend charges for crimes committed in Blair County.

The Superior Court panel ruled that this complaint by Samuel was a challenge to the merits of his case and thus had to be supported by an exception to the one-year rule.

The panel ruled he was unable to prove an exception — as a newly discovered fact.

This issue was dismissed, noting that the first time Samuel raised the grand jury issue was before the appeals court, not before the trial judge as is required.

As to his ability to pay the $8,000 fine, the panel concluded that Milliron had received and reviewed a detailed overview of Samuel’s employment history and income through a presentence report and determined he had the ability to pay the fine.

The Superior Court explained that the investigation into the drug ring was thorough, involving the use of confidential informants, electronic surveillance, the use of body wires on informants and wiretaps.

Samuel at one point coordinated the cocaine operation through a local bar where he stored, cut and repackaged the drugs for distribution to street dealers.

The investigation, known as Operation Last Call, resulted in at least

12 arrests, the panel stated.