Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

FORT WAYNE – Airon L. Mitchell, age 24, of Fort Wayne, was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Mitchell was sentenced to 90 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to documents in this case, in August 2021, Fort Wayne Police Officers were looking for Mitchell who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Officers observed Mitchell get into a vehicle while holding a bag which he dropped in the center console. The bag contained 195 blue fentanyl pills. A search warrant for his residence resulted in the recovery of 193.8 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, a loaded 9mm handgun as well as a loaded 50 round drum magazine. Mitchell is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing the firearm or ammunition.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department and the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith.

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.