Felon admits to shooting ATF agent

An Uptown drug dealer with five prior convictions pleaded guilty Friday to shooting a federal agent during a 2019 drug raid targeting members of a narcotics ring tied to slain Pittsburgh rapper Jimmy Wopo.

Dion Williams, 46, pleaded guilty to drug and gun counts in addition to assaulting an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Williams was part of a ring under investigation by the FBI and ATF for trafficking in the Hill District.

Wiretaps revealed that Williams, who has prior convictions in both federal and state court, was communicating with other conspirators over the purchase and distribution of cocaine.

Law officers swept in to take down the ring on June 18, 2020.

An ATF tactical unit arrived at Williams’ residence on Marion Street. Agents announced themselves through a public address system on an ATF vehicle, after which an agent rammed open the door.

Prosecutors said the door swung back shut and the agent tried to breach it again. When he did, Williams shot him through the shoulder. The agent was taken to a hospital and recovered.

After he shot the agent, Williams took his gun apart and hid the components in his house, prosecutors said. Agents found the disassembled gun under the basement steps and the magazine and ammo in a false ceiling on the second floor.

In addition to pleading to the shooting, Williams also admitted that he trafficked between 500 grams and two kilos of cocaine.

He faces at least a decade in federal prison when he is sentenced in October.

The underlying drug case focused on a cocaine operation connected to the 11 Hunnit gang in the Hill that agents say was led in part by Wopo, whose real name was Travon Smart. He was killed in 2018.