On Friday, a Dayton, Ohio, man received an eight-year prison sentence for carrying fentanyl with the intention of distributing it while residing in Oxford in April 2021.
According to court documents, Justin Elkins, 35, previously pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi to one count of attempting to possess fentanyl with intent to distribute the drug in Oxford in April 2021 after officers intercepted a package containing the drug in the mail. United States District Judge Sharion Aycock sentenced Elkins to 96 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Friday afternoon.
US Attorney Clay Joyner declared, “We should never use the U.S. mail as a vehicle for distributing illicit drugs.” “We are committed to holding accountable those who illegally distribute dangerous drugs like fentanyl into our communities.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to ensuring that U.S. mail is not used as a tool to distribute deadly fentanyl to our communities,” stated Scott Fix, U.S. Postal Inspector for the Houston Division. “The sentence handed down today should serve as a reminder to other perpetrators that we remain steadfast with our law enforcement partners to bring those who engage in this activity to justice.”
The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Oxford Police Department, and the Metro Narcotics Unit of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Paul Roberts, an assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted the case.