Two men involved in a fentanyl trafficking operation have been sentenced to federal prison for their activities. The operation was responsible for moving counterfeit fentanyl pills from Arizona to Evansville.
Deriontai Mathis, aged 31, from Evansville, received an 11-year federal prison sentence and five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to charges including possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, firearm possession by a convicted felon, and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
Ernest Gilbert, aged 38, from Arizona, was sentenced in July 2024 to five years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. His charges included distribution of fentanyl and conspiracy related to over 400 grams of the drug.
Court documents reveal that between September and November 2022, Mathis and Gilbert worked together to buy and sell thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl. Gilbert acquired the pills in Arizona and transported them to Indiana before delivering them to Mathis in Evansville.
On November 10, 2022, investigators searching Mathis's residence found ten thousand counterfeit M-30 fentanyl pills hidden inside a child’s toy car along with $56,800 in cash stored in a camouflaged backpack. Nine firearms were also recovered at this location. Additional weapons were found at another property used by Mathis.
Mathis has prior convictions; he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a previous conviction as a drug abuser with a firearm charge in 2015.
The investigation also uncovered that Jeremial Leach purchased counterfeit pills from Mathis at $10 each. In May 2024, Leach was sentenced to 20 years for dealing fentanyl resulting in multiple overdoses and one death.
John E. Childress, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana stated: “The sentences imposed here should serve as a warning: these poisons kill—and selling them will earn you decades in federal prison.” He emphasized the commitment of his office alongside state and local partners "to keep our communities safe."
This case was investigated by several agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Evansville Police Department. U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young imposed the sentences while Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Wheatley prosecuted the case.
