Eric Bennett, Heroin Distribution, Kentucky 2021

Two brothers, Eric and Marcus Bennett, have been convicted of heroin distribution in Louisville, Kentucky. The conviction comes after a federal jury found the pair guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin.

The jury also convicted Eric Bennett, age 43, of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Eric Bennett was arrested in February 2017 after attempting to evade law enforcement surveillance. During the arrest, two parcels of heroin were recovered from a residential neighborhood.

The investigation revealed that the defendants sold heroin to a confidential source between November 2016 and March 2017. Eric Bennett has a prior state court conviction for trafficking in a controlled substance (cocaine) and fleeing or evading police.

Despite the convictions, the defendants were acquitted of charges related to the 2016 shooting of a United States Postal Service mail carrier who survived a gunshot wound to the face. The charges included conspiracy to murder a federal employee, attempted murder of a federal employee, forcible assault of a federal employee, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford presented the case at trial for the United States. Sentencing is scheduled before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell on October 19, 2021, in the U.S. Gene Snyder Courthouse in Louisville, Kentucky, at 10:00 a.m.

Eric Bennett, 43, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His brother, Marcus Bennett, 44, was also found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin.

The exact dates of the crimes were not specified in the report, but the arrest occurred in February 2017. The sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2021. Eric Bennett was found with a loaded Sig Sauer p250 pistol in the glove compartment of his car during the arrest.

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