Jan 31, 2017 2 min read

A Beaver County man was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges involving possession with the intent to distribute heroin and the unlawful possession of several firearms and ammunition while in Washington County. The two-count indictment named Bobby Leon Cook, 28, of New Brighton, as the sole defendant, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Cook formerly lived in South Strabane Township.

According to the indictment presented to the court, on or about March 30, Cook possessed a quantity of heroin with the intent to distribute it. Cook, a felon previously convicted of two Washington County robberies and an Allegheny County gun case, was also charged with violating federal firearms laws for the unlawful possession of three handguns and ammunition.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1.25 million, or both.

Cook was sentenced in 2010 to four to eight years in state prison followed by five years of probation in connection with a 2008 home invasion and robbery in Washington. He had previously served 6 to 24 months in Washington County jail after a 2007 robbery.

The case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent, deter and prosecute gun crime. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency and officers from Canonsburg and Washington police departments, and Washington County sheriff’s department conducted the investigation that led to the indictment.