A U.S. Middle District Court judge sentenced a 21-year-old heroin dealer who was part of the former “Tat-Gang,” selling narcotics and trading guns for drugs in Williamsport for a year starting in 2012, was sentenced on Friday to 72 months in federal prison.

Judge Matthew W. Brann handed down the sentence to Zuriel Ahki Love, also known as “Poppy” in the gang, which a federal grand jury indictment stated included members of a network of individuals from Philadelphia and Williamsport.

Love pleaded guilty on June 27 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

Before he was sentenced, Love said he made bad decisions and was old enough to understand what he did was wrong but too young to fully comprehend the long-term consequences of his actions.

He promised the judge and his family and friends in the courtroom that after his prison term that he would have his tattoos removed and would take full advantage of the educational programs and drug rehabilitation afforded to inmates within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Considered to be an honor student, Love succumbed to the lure of selling heroin, which accounted for 50,000 overdoses in 2015 within the U.S., assistant U.S. Attorney George J. Rocktashel said.

Despite testing well at school following juvenile adjudication, he was attracted by the easy money of the heroin trade, Rocktashel said.

This, despite Love having the “blessing” of leaving the inner-city Philadelphia neighborhood he grew up in to live with his grandmother in the suburbs of Montgomery County, he said.

While in Clinton County Prison, Love “unfortunately” became involved in a drug distribution scheme with co-defendant Joey Lehigh Elmore, Brann said.

Love’s story is too often being repeated throughout the nation.

In 2009, Love, a teenager, met co-conspirator Arnell A. Monroe, also known as “Jigga,” Brann said. Monroe “groomed” the teenager and served as a father-like figure.

“Vice so often masquerades as virtue,” Brann said.

Love was encouraged to move to Williamsport, where Monroe would sell heroin and Love and co-conspirator Derrick Malik Savage sold cocaine and crack cocaine.

From in or around November 2012 and continuing to Nov. 20, 2013, in Lycoming and Tioga counties, and elsewhere, Love and several co-defendants in the case conspired to distribute 100 grams and more of heroin and 28 grams and more of “crack” cocaine and cocaine.

As time went on, the gang found drug users in 2013 at Timberland Apartments on Edwin Street and then expanded its enterprise to area motel rooms, Brann said.

When the gang ran out of heroin and cocaine, Love would contact Monroe to get more. Monroe, however, died in a car crash, and after that Love found another source and sold heroin in Williamsport.

Love and the conspirators drove to and from various locations in Lycoming and Tioga counties to obtain and deliver the drugs. They used multiple vehicles to travel to Philadelphia to get drugs for distribution in Williamsport and elsewhere.

They used residences such as 910 Wayne Ave. and 2135 W. Third St. to process, store and keep the drugs, cash and repackaging materials.

The conspirators also bought, sold and traded and possessed firearms in exchange for cash and drugs to facilitate the distribution network. The gang used cellphones to communicate.

Love and co-conspirator Derrick Savage were nabbed on Nov. 16, 2013, with six bags of heroin.

Love requested that the judge recommend he serve his sentence at the Allenwood Federal Corrections Institution. Only the Bureau of Prisons can decide that, but the judge’s recommendation may have some weight in the bureau’s decision.

Love also must be on four years supervised release after his prison term. He had to pay a $100 assessment and $500 fine.