Jerlen Horton, Jerlen Horton, and Chicoby Summers, Fentanyl Trafficking, Kentucky 2021

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Two Louisville Men Found Guilty of Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy and Firearms Offenses

A federal jury in Louisville, Kentucky, has found Jerlen Horton, 30, and Chicoby Summers, 29, guilty of numerous felony offenses, including conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between September 25, 2021, and August 22, 2023, Horton and Summers conspired to possess with the intent to distribute over one kilogram of fentanyl, over 250 grams of heroin, and a mixture of cocaine base, commonly referred to as ‘crack cocaine.’

Additionally, on November 3, 2021, both defendants possessed with the intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine and possessed firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking crimes. The evidence presented at trial also established that on November 3, 2021, Summers was on federal supervised release and escaped from custody.

Horton and Summers were utilizing false identities and were fugitives from justice until they were apprehended by law enforcement following a standoff with members of the United States Marshals Task Force on August 22, 2023, in Long Beach, California.

Both Horton and Summers are scheduled for sentencing on November 13, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Both defendants remain detained pending sentencing. Both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence for each defendant after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The ATF and LMPD investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI, DEA, United States Postal Inspection Service, Kentucky State Police, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Long Beach California Police Department, Verdigris Oklahoma Police Department, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Dahl and Josh Porter are prosecuting the case, with assistance from paralegal specialist Adela Alic.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence.