Woman sentenced on gun, drug charges

PITTSBURGH -- Anita Ward, 28, of North Cascade Street, New Castle, has been sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh to 10 years' imprisonment, followed by five years' supervised release on her conviction of falsification of firearms purchase forms and conspiracy to distribute 11 pounds or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.
Ward was an illegal "straw" purchaser -- a person who buys firearms for another person -- of 10 firearms from a gun shop in New Castle in October and December 1999, according to information presented to the court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina O. Miller.
Ward was also a courier for a drug organization, which operated out of New Castle, Houston, Detroit and Youngstown, Miller said.
Ward transported drugs and money for the organization, the assistant U.S. attorney said.
Judge Gustave Diamond, after imposing the mandatory minimum 10-year sentence, immediately revoked Ward's bond and ordered her taken into custody.