A Cincinnati man has been found guilty by a federal jury in Lexington for possessing with intent to distribute significant amounts of fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue. The verdict was reached after two hours of deliberation at the conclusion of a two-day trial.
Daquan Gatling, 32, was convicted on charges related to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue and 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Evidence presented during the trial indicated that on March 17, 2024, Gatling crashed his vehicle into a utility pole in the Georgetown corridor area of Lexington and then fled the scene. Police officers searching the vehicle discovered drugs, a scale, and plastic baggies inside a backpack located in the backseat. Testing confirmed that the substances included over 100 grams of a mixture containing a fentanyl analogue and more than 40 grams of fentanyl.
At the time of this incident, Gatling was under federal supervised release following an earlier conviction in the Eastern District of Kentucky for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Paul McCaffrey, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Colin Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Chief Lawrence Weathers from the Lexington Police Department jointly announced the conviction.
The case was investigated by HSI and the Lexington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Winslow and Joel King are prosecuting on behalf of the government.
Gatling is scheduled for sentencing on June 16. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by considering both federal sentencing statutes and guidelines.
