Three Lawrence County residents have received lengthy prison sentences for their roles in a cocaine distribution ring that operated in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida and Texas. Demetris McKnight, 26, of Florence Avenue, New Castle, who federal prosecutors said “always carried a gun and was known to be violent,” was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for his conviction on conspiracy to violate federal narcotics laws. McKnight told federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents that he was an “enforcer” for his cousin, Bruce McKnight, also of New Castle. Bruce McKnight, 34, recently entered a guilty plea in the case and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Bruce McKnight’s one-time girlfriend, LaShawna Smith, 30, a former New Castle resident who now lives in Buffalo, N.Y., was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in the conspiracy. Demetris McKnight and Smith were sentenced in Pittsburgh this week by U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster, who noted that McKnight was involved in the scheme solely for profit. The trio were among seven defendants who prosecutors said were involved in the conspiracy that distributed large amounts of crack and powdered cocaine in the Detroit and New Castle areas between 1994 and ’99. The drugs were supplied from sources in Houston and Miami. Demetris McKnight stored handguns and crack in the home of a female friend in New Castle, prosecutors said. They did not identify the friend and it was unclear if she has been indicted in the case. Smith functioned as a courier, transporting large quantities of drugs and money between Miami and New Castle for Bruce McKnight, prosecutors said. She stopped making trips in 1997 when police boarded the bus she was going to take to Florida to purchase 4 kilograms of cocaine, prosecutors said. Officers seized the $72,000 she was carrying. Also this week, authorities in Lawrence County said they are continuing their investigation into the April 9, 2000, shooting death of Bruce McKnight’s wife, Jada McKnight, who was gunned down in front of her husband and children in the driveway of their home in New Castle. District Attorney Matthew Mangino said there are no suspects and no motive in the slaying. Mangino would not speculate if the shooting was in retaliation for Bruce McKnight’s drug activities nor would he say if police believe Bruce McKnight was the intended target of the ambushers. Authorities said Jada McKnight ran to the house to unlock the door and was running back to the car when at least five shots rang out, fired by some men who stepped out of the shadows in the back yard. Her three children — ages 7, 10 and 12 at the time — were sitting in the back seat of the car and Bruce McKnight was getting something out of the trunk. They were not injured. The family was returning home from the small market they operated in New Castle so that Bruce McKnight, who was on a work-release program for driving with a suspended license, could shower and get back to jail in time.

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