LEXINGTON, Ky.- Melvin Tremayne Mahone, 31, of Lexington, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison by Chief United States District Judge Karen Caldwell for Trafficking in more than 40 grams of Fentanyl and Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking.
On Oct. 20, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Mahone’s residence, on American Avenue in Lexington. During the arrest and search of Mahone, officers located approximately 60 grams of fentanyl concealed in his underwear. Fentanyl can be lethal in the 2 milligram range. In close proximity to Mahone were two loaded firearms. Mahone has a prior federal felony conviction for drug trafficking. Mahone pleaded guilty to the charges in March.
Under federal law, Mahone must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for 8 years.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Stuart Lowery, Special Agent in Charge, ATF; and Lawrence Weathers, Chief of the Lexington Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Lexington Police Department and the ATF. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Roger W. West.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017, as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, local strategies to reduce violent crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
