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<p>SCRANTON &#8212; A sixth defendant connected to a heroin trafficking operation in Luzerne County pleaded guilty to felony drug charges Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office announced.</p><p>Shaquan Murphy, 28, of New Jersey, pleaded guilty to distributing 50 grams of heroin to dealers in Luzerne County in October 2014. He is the sixth defendant to plead guilty in the case, prosecutors said.</p><p>Prosecutors said Murphy admitted to distributing between 100 and 400 grams of heroin, equivalent to between 3,300 and 13,200 bags of the drug, of between August and October 2014.</p><p>One of the other defendants, 26-year-old Desmond Mercer, was found found with 600 heroin packets hidden down his pants during a traffic stop in Kingston in 2014. Mercer, of Edwardsville, was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a crack windshield.</p><p>Mercer pleaded guilty to drug charges in December, according to the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 2.</p><p>Mercer, Megan Fox, 28, of Plymouth, Shaliek Stroman, 32, of Edwardsville, Antuan Jamison, 34, of New Jersey, Corey Wortham, 18, of Montgomery, Alabama, and Murphy were all indicated by a grand jury in October 2014 after a joint investigation by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s Office and multiple area police departments.</p><p>Wortham received 18 months in prison in October, according to the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office. Fox is scheduled to be sentenced next month.</p><p>Stroman was arrested by Kingston police when he was allegedly found with 146 heroin packets, marijuana, and white powder identified as a club drug during a traffic stop on Market Street in May 2014, police said.</p><p>Earlier this month, Stroman was <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/501579/edwardsville-man-gets-12-years-in-luzerne-country-heroin-trafficking-scheme" target="_blank">sentenced to 151 months behind bars</a> for his role in the trafficking operation. Jamison was also handed jail time, receiving five years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office.</p><p>U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley scheduled Murphy&#8217;s sentencing for April 28.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sixth defendant pleads guilty in Luzerne County heroin trafficking operation