Man serving federal drug sentence gets state prison for DUI – Butler Eagle

A Bruin man serving a 3-year sentence in a federal drug case was sentenced Thursday in Common Pleas Court to serve 2 to 14 years in state prison after pleading guilty to fourth and fifth charges driving under the influence.

Gilbert E. Smith, 45, was sentenced in September to 3 years in federal prison followed by 4 years of probation after pleading guilty to felony conspiracy to possess with intent to possess a fentanyl charge that was filed against him in August 2023 following a four-month wiretapping investigation into drug trafficking, illegal firearms possession and gang activity in Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhoods. Federal authorities charged 16 other people in the investigation.

On Thursday, Smith pleaded guilty remotely from the county jail to fourth and fifth DUI charges.

Judge Timothy McCune sentenced Smith to serve 12 to 48 months in state prison for the fourth DUI, to serve an additional 12 to 48 months consecutively for the fifth DUI, to pay $5,000 in fines dollars and complete 80 hours of community service and trash pickup. Both charges are felonies. Smith received credit for already serving 537 days in jail.

State police filed DUI charges. A fourth DUI charge was filed for driving under the influence of a controlled substance following an incident on Jan. 24, 2022, in Bruin. The fifth DUI charge stemmed from a May 14, 2023, incident in Fairview.

Prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Smith on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia filed by Butler Township police in March 2023 and eight drug charges, including two counts of possession with intent to deliver, filed by police state in March 2023.