Toledo’s Lee T. Turner Gets 30 Years for Heroin and Gun

A kilogram of heroin, a loaded 9 mm pistol, and a rap sheet that includes bank robbery and kidnapping — Lee T. Turner, 31, of Toledo, is now locked up for 30 years after being sentenced for fueling the city’s opioid crisis. U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon confirmed the sentence in a statement that pulled no punches about the danger Turner posed.

Turner was convicted earlier this year on two counts: one of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin, and another of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charges stem from a year-long conspiracy running from November 2013 to November 20, 2014, during which Turner used two Toledo addresses — 2830 Powhattan Parkway and 707 Phillips Avenue — as stash houses for heroin distribution.

On the final day of the conspiracy, November 20, 2014, authorities intercepted Turner in possession of approximately 1,077 grams of heroin — just over a kilogram — and a loaded 9 mm pistol. Despite multiple prior felony convictions, including bank robbery, robbery, and kidnapping, Turner was armed and operating in the drug underground.

U.S. District Judge James Carr didn’t flinch: 30 years behind bars, a $200,000 fine, and full forfeiture of assets tied to the operation. Turner must surrender a house, firearms, cash, jewelry, and other property amassed through his criminal enterprise — a total dismantling of his illicit lifestyle.

“We will continue to aggressively go after those who bring heroin into our community and who are forbidden from carrying firearms but do so anyway,” Rendon said. “Our state is in the midst of an opioid epidemic and we all must work together – through prevention, treatment, education and yes, enforcement, to turn the tide.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alyssa Sterling and James Morford, following a joint investigation by the Toledo Metro Drug Task Force — a coalition including the Toledo Police Department, FBI, Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, and other federal and local agencies. The bust marks another strike in the ongoing war against organized drug networks in Northwest Ohio.