A man from St. Louis County, Missouri, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in distributing fentanyl and other drugs. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey handed down the sentence to Dennis M. Davis, 48, after he pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
According to court documents, Davis admitted purchasing drugs from a supplier in Mexico and sending some of the proceeds back through a courier. On October 6, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Davis’s residence in St. Louis County where they discovered fentanyl, three handguns, and $6,679 in cash. At another location used by Davis as a stash house in St. Louis, authorities found equipment such as a money counter and scales along with kilograms of fentanyl and other drugs, four rifles, and an additional handgun.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Field Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis commented on the case: “Dennis Davis had enough fentanyl in his stash house to kill every single resident in the city of St. Louis,” he said. “He was a threat to our city, pushing poisons, destroying lives and all the while lining his pockets with proceeds. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in our city, our state or our nation.”
IRS-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) St. Louis Special Agent in Charge William Steenson highlighted the collaborative effort involved: “This case is another example of good task force work fueled by cooperation between both local and federal law enforcement agencies,” Steenson said. “IRS-CI’s role in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations. We’re proud to provide our financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”
The investigation was led by the DEA, IRS-CI, St. Louis County Police Department, and U.S. Marshals Service; Assistant U.S. Attorney James Delworth prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation which focuses on identifying and dismantling high-level criminal organizations through collaboration among multiple agencies using intelligence-driven strategies.
