A massive fentanyl trafficking operation that brought thousands of counterfeit pills from Arizona to Evansville has been dismantled, landing two men in federal prison.
Deriontai Mathis, 31, of Evansville, has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
Ernest Gilbert, 38, of Arizona, was sentenced in July of 2024 to five years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to distribution of fentanyl and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
According to court documents, Mathis and Gilbert conspired together to buy and sell thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills between September and November of 2022. Gilbert would obtain the pills in Arizona, ship them to Indiana, and then fly to Evansville to deliver them to Mathis.
On November 10, 2022, investigators recovered 10,000 counterfeit M-30 fentanyl pills hidden inside a child’s toy car, along with $56,800 in cash, a body armor vest, and nine firearms from Mathis’s residence. Additional firearms were found at another storage location.
In 2015, Mathis was convicted of being a drug abuser in possession of a firearm, rendering him ineligible to possess firearms legally.
The investigation also led to the arrest of Jeremial Leach, a customer of Mathis who purchased counterfeit fentanyl pills for $10 each. Leach was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in May 2024 for dealing fentanyl that resulted in at least three overdoses and a teen’s death.
U.S. Acting Attorney John E. Childress praised the sentences, stating, “These poisons kill—and selling them will earn you decades in federal prison.”
The investigation involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force, and Evansville Police Department. U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young imposed the sentences.
Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Wheatley for her role in prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|
- Source: Official Source ↗
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