Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

FORT WAYNE – Eddie M. Knox, 56 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady on his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Knox was sentenced to 300 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, between May 6, 2019, and August 26, 2020, Knox was involved in a conspiracy with his co-defendants to distribute significant amounts of controlled substances.  During the conspiracy, Knox personally distributed approximately 393 grams of methamphetamine and 98 grams of fentanyl in five controlled buys with law enforcement.  Knox also provided a firearm to a felon during one of the controlled buys.  In addition, Knox maintained a residence where controlled substances were sold and stored during the conspiracy, and where additional narcotics and two firearms were recovered.   

Knox was the final defendant to be sentenced in this case.  The other 5 co-defendants who were previously sentenced included:

Fredrick Morgan II, 43 years old, of Fort Wayne, who received 360 months in prison,

Larry Lamb, 41 years of age, of Fort Wayne, who received 295 months in prison,

Frederick Morgan, 65 years old, of Fort Wayne, who received 90 months in prison,

James Russell, Jr., 56 year old, of Fort Wayne, who received 84 months in prison, and

Sarah Waltz,  41 years old, of Fort Wayne, who received 37 months in prison.

This case was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the Indiana State Police, Allen County Sheriff’s Department, Allen County Drug Task Force, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Huntington Police Department, Auburn Police Department, and the Fort Wayne Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stacey R. Speith and Brent A. Ecenbarger.

This case was being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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