The largest criminal case in Erie, Pennsylvania history was unveiled in June with the unsealing of an indictment against 22 members of the 4-Nation gang and 36 other defendants. Cases were quickly resolved with guilty pleas and sentencings. Rayshawn M. Woodard, 23, became the second defendant to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Erie.
Woodard, a 23-year-old Erie resident, was facing a lengthy federal prison term for trafficking 1,400 fentanyl pills over a span of fewer than two years. The pills had an estimated street value of up to $28,000, or $20 per pill. Woodard’s association with the 4-Nation street gang further complicated his situation.
As the second defendant to be sentenced in the 4-Nation case, Woodard was accused of being the 10th-highest ranking member of the gang. The indictment states that the gang operated in the area of East 24th and Wallace streets in Erie for about a decade. Woodard faced the federal anti-racketeering law for being part of 4-Nation.
Like the eight highest ranking member of 4-Nation, Marius L. Russell was the first defendant sentenced in the case. After pleading guilty and making a deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Woodard followed suit. He was sentenced on Dec. 21 for violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and conspiring to deal in the 1,400 fentanyl pills as part of the gang.
The plea deal entailed Woodard receiving a five-year sentence for both counts and four years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter followed the plea deal in sentencing Woodard to a total of five years in prison and four years of supervised release. The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that the 4-Nation gang was involved in distributing illegal drugs and engaging in other crimes for the past decade.
Woodard’s distribution of fentanyl played a role in the functioning of the gang, as evidenced by social media postings and other investigative methods. Investigators used wiretaps and social media to build a case against Woodard and other defendants. As a part of the 4-Nation investigation, law enforcement seized large quantities of illegal drugs, guns, and cash.