Fentanyl Trafficking Sends Washington Man to Prison for 11 Years After Columbus Traffic Stop
BILLINGS — A Washington man who admitted to trafficking fentanyl and illegally possessing a firearm after a traffic stop in Columbus was sentenced on May 1 to 11 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Anthony Omarel Kenner, 31, of Tacoma, Washington, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
In court documents, the government alleged that in March 2022, law enforcement pulled over Kenner and a passenger in a traffic stop. Officers became suspicious of drugs in the vehicle based on Kenner’s and his passenger’s conflicting stories and the presence of drug paraphernalia. A search warrant was executed on the vehicle, and law enforcement found in the trunk a backpack containing cocaine, fentanyl and a loaded, stolen .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol. Kenner was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a previous felony conviction in Washington.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelsey M. Hendricks and Thomas K. Godfrey prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Columbus Police Department conducted the investigation.
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, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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