Man serving federal drug sentence gets state prison for drunk driving

A Bruin man serving a three-year prison sentence in a federal drug case was sentenced Thursday in Common Pleas Court to 2 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to his fourth and fifth drunken driving charges.

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

On Thursday, Smith pleaded guilty remotely from prison to his fourth and fifth charges of driving under the influence.

Judge Timothy McCune sentenced Smith to 12 to 48 months in prison for the fourth DUI, then another 12 to 48 months in prison for his fifth DUI, paying $5,000 in fines and completing 80 hours of community service and litter pickup. Both charges are felonies. Smith was credited with having already served 537 days in jail.

State police have filed a DUI charge. The fourth DUI charge was filed for driving under the influence of a controlled substance following an incident on January 24, 2022 in Bruin. The fifth DUI charge came after an incident on May 14, 2023 in Fairview.

The district attorney’s office agreed not to prosecute Smith on one count of possession of drug paraphernalia filed by Butler Township police in March 2023 and eight counts of drug possession, including two misdemeanor counts of possession with the intent to deliver, filed by state police in March 2023.