Maurice B. Stewart, a 41-year-old resident of Cincinnati, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for distributing fentanyl. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court following an investigation by the Mason Police Department and the Heroin Coalition Task Force.
Court documents reveal that Stewart, also known as "Reese" and "Suave," worked as a chef at various restaurants around Cincinnati. He allegedly used his position to sell blue pills purported to be Percocet to coworkers and customers outside these establishments.
An incident on September 18, 2022, led to his arrest when he sold three pills for $60 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. The buyer was later found unresponsive by his mother and pronounced dead by first responders. A toxicology report confirmed the presence of fentanyl, with the coroner attributing the death to a fatal overdose.
Stewart faced indictment by a federal grand jury in January 2023 and entered a guilty plea in July 2024.
The sentence was announced by Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Detroit; along with officials from both the Mason Police Department and Heroin Coalition Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys David P. Dornette and Timothy D. Oakley represented the prosecution.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative aimed at dismantling high-level drug traffickers through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
