United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana announced that Carissa McCoy, 42, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

McCoy was sentenced to 63 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, from June through mid-August 2021, McCoy conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in the Michigan City area. Her home, which she shared with one of her co-defendants, housed currency, firearms, and ammunition related to the conspiracy. In August 2021, McCoy and one of her co-defendants were stopped by law enforcement while traveling back to Michigan City. At that time, McCoy had over a kilogram of fentanyl pills on her person. 

This case was investigated by the DEA, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the LaPorte County Drug Task Force, an Indiana HIDTA Initiative, and the Michigan City Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly L. Schultz and Joel Gabrielse.