Indiana Man Sentenced to 6 1/2 Years for Fentanyl-Related Charges
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Alfred 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 Cornelius Nelson, 34, of Elkhart, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
Nelson was sentenced to 66 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, from June through mid-August 2021, Nelson conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in the Michigan City, Indiana area. Nelson delivered controlled substances and was present and helped facilitate other transactions when co-defendants sold pills purporting to be oxycodone that were actually fentanyl. Nelson admitted to selling fentanyl to customers, handling money, and aiding in resupplying controlled substances. Nelson is the final member of this group to be sentenced in this case. Others previously sentenced were:
- Rico Marion - 444 months in prison and five years of supervised release;
- Brandon Harris - 151 months in prison and five years of supervised release;
- Meliki Marion - 130 months in prison and five years of supervised release; and
- Carissa McCoy - 63 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the DEA (including the Chicago Field Division, the Merrillville District Office, the Amarillo Texas Resident Office and the Albuquerque New Mexico District Office) 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.
