Michigan Man Sentenced for Armed Drug Trafficking
ASHLAND, Ky. — A Hamtramck, Michigan., man, Corey J. Benton, 34, was sentenced on Monday, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, to 138 months in prison, for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to his plea agreement, beginning in October 2022, the Kentucky State Police opened an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Benton. Their investigation revealed that Benton had sold illicit drugs containing fentanyl and fluorofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, in Carter County. Ultimately, during the execution of a search warrant at Benton’s residence, law enforcement seized a distribution quantity of fentanyl, as well as a .45 caliber Sig Sauer firearm. Benton admitted that he possessed this firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activity.
Under federal law, Benton must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for four years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Shawn Morrow, Special Agent in Charge, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Task Force, Louisville Field Division; and Col. Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police (KSP), jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by ATF and KSP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Rieker is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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