More than 120 grams of fentanyl was found in the defendant’s home
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington man, who admitted in federal court last year that he possessed and intended to distribute large quantities of fentanyl in Fayette County, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood sentenced 55 year-old William Dixon for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Under federal law, Dixon must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
Dixon admitted last year that, in July 2016, the Lexington Police conducted a search of his residence and located 121 grams of fentanyl and 69 grams of a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, and acetyl fentanyl. Dixon had previously been convicted of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and using a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, in 2003.
Dixon worked for the city in the Division of Water Quality at the time of his arrest.
“The great work of our law enforcement partners at the DEA and the Lexington Police prevented an enormous amount of this very dangerous drug from being illegally distributed,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Fentanyl can be lethal in the 2 mg range and the seizure in this case represents one of the largest ever in the Lexington area. This case was a significant achievement toward public safety and supports our continued efforts in combatting the opioid epidemic in our community.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Shier; Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Mark Barnard, Chief of Lexington Police, jointly made the announcement.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the Lexington Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cindy Rieker prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.