John Switzer, Fentanyl Trafficking, Rhode Island 2019

A Providence man was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for fentanyl trafficking.

John Switzer, 28, was found by the FBI’s Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force to be in possession of more than 100 grams of fentanyl on May 1, 2019.

During a long-term drug trafficking investigation, Switzer was seen leaving his residence and traveling as a passenger in a vehicle to a nearby supermarket parking lot, where he met with another individual who admitted to purchasing 30mg Percocet pills from Switzer.

The pills were later tested and found to contain a mixture including fentanyl. Law enforcement also seized two packages containing a total of approximately 116 grams of fentanyl and a package containing 10 blue pills similar to the pills seized earlier in the evening, which also tested positive for a mixture containing fentanyl.

Later that evening, members of the Safe Streets Task Force executed a court-authorized search warrant at Switzer’s residence and seized about 1,500 suspected fentanyl pills, 18 ounces of marijuana, and $1,800 in cash.

On September 21, 2019, Switzer pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. sentenced Switzer to 60 months incarceration to be followed by four years’ supervised release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan and was part of a long-term investigation by the FBI’s Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, which consists of agents and law enforcement officers from the FBI, RI State Police, Providence, Cranston, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, and Central Falls Police Departments, R.I. Department of Corrections, and the Rhode Island National Guard.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/fentanyl-dealer-sentenced-federal-prison