Department of Justice

INDIANAPOLIS – Lamar Taylor, 31, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, on July 18, 2019, officers executed a search warrant at Lamar Taylor’s residence on Bolton Court in Indianapolis. Taylor was serving a community corrections sentence after pleading guilty to drug possession in Marion County. Officers found a loaded .380 handgun, $12,451.00 in U.S. currency, approximately 22.88 grams of fentanyl, 10.06 grams of cocaine, and 2.73 grams of marijuana, all in Taylor’s bedroom. Officers found 595 grams of methamphetamine above a furnace directly across the hall from Taylor’s bedroom. Digital scales and materials used to cut narcotics were found in the kitchen. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, depending on a person’s body size, tolerance, and past usage. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.

Taylor was interviewed by law enforcement officers and admitted to selling narcotics when he was released from jail about six weeks before this incident. Taylor also admitted to selling two to three ounces of methamphetamine, two to three ounces of cocaine, and fourteen grams of heroin daily. Taylor indicated there was approximately one pound of methamphetamine inside his residence at the time of his arrest. Taylor told officers that he believed he had sold four to five pounds of methamphetamine since he was released from jail.

Taylor has prior felony convictions in state court in Marion County, Indiana, for drug possession, resisting law enforcement and carrying a handgun without a license. Taylor is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law due to these felony convictions.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Columbus Field Division (ATF), made the announcement.

ATF investigated the case in conjunction with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. As part of the sentence, Judge Pratt ordered that Taylor be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for five years following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence D. Hilton who prosecuted this case.

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.