LEXINGTON, Ky. - Maurice Love, 21, of Lexington, pleaded guilty in federal court today, before U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
As part of his guilty plea, Love admitted that, on February 8, 2019, he possessed 83 grams of fentanyl, $2,620 in cash, a digital scale, and powder used to mix the fentanyl prior to distribution. Love also admitted that he intended to distribute the fentanyl to others. Love was indicted in May of 2019.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; D. Christopher Evans, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA; and Lawrence Weathers, Chief of the Lexington Police Department, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lexington Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kiebler.
Love is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2019. He faces up to 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force’s (OCDETF) Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS), a Department of Justice initiative designed to target trafficking of dangerous synthetic opioids.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
