A Canton man was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison for opioid and firearms crimes.
Michael J. Meadows, 49, was sentenced to 131 months in prison. A jury convicted him earlier this year on one count of possession with intent to distribute narcotics, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Meadows possessed at least 100 grams of a mixture of fentanyl, carfentanil, heroin and cocaine, as well as a Springfield.45-caliber pistol and ammunition, on Jan. 18, 2018. Meadows was prohibited from having firearms or ammunition because of prior convictions, including cocaine possession, having a weapon under disability and aiding and abetting distribution of crack cocaine, according to the court documents.
“Opioids, cocaine and firearms are all deadly on their own, let alone put together in one dangerous situation," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “This sentence will help make our community safer."
“The opioid crisis has evolved and so has the nature of the threat, with potent synthetic opioids representing a sharply increasing amount of the total exposure to these drugs, further fueling a growing addiction crisis," said Special Agent in Charge Mark S. McCormack, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “The FDA has expanded our enforcement efforts to include increased interdiction work aimed at stopping the illegal flow of counterfeit and unapproved prescription drugs and illicit opioids and we will continue to pursue and bring to justice criminals who intend to threaten the health and safety of Americans."
This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron P. Howell and Christopher Joyce.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
