Cecil Short Jr., Fentanyl and Firearms Offense, Tennessee 2022

A Memphis man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a fentanyl trafficking ring that resulted in one fatal overdose.

Cecil Short Jr., 36, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl, as well as possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking. United States Attorney Joseph C. Murphy, Jr. announced the sentence.

According to information presented in court, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began investigating Short in August 2020. Agents arrested him at a hotel in Memphis on September 20, 2020, where they found multiple firearms, as well as fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. Short was a convicted felon at the time and as a result, was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

The Memphis Police Department Organized Crime Unit linked Short to a fatal overdose that occurred on May 6, 2020. Short acknowledged guilt in connection to the overdose and pled guilty to fentanyl distribution and possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking on May 7, 2021.

On February 10, 2022, United States District Judge Jon P. McCalla sentenced Short to 15 years in federal prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. In the federal system, there is no parole.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Memphis Police Department Organized Crime Unit, the Memphis Police Department Gang Unit, and the United States Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory D. Allen prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

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