United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been arrested on a federal complaint charging him with selling fentanyl-laced heroin on the city’s Southwest Side.

Charles Kindred, 33, sold approximately 2.4 grams of the fentanyl-laced heroin during a meeting last month in a retail store parking lot in Chicago’s Ashburn neighborhood, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in federal court.  Unbeknownst to Kindred, the buyer was cooperating with law enforcement, who conducted surveillance on the transaction, the complaint states.

The complaint charges Kindred with one count of distribution of a controlled substance.  Kindred was arrested Thursday morning and made an initial appearance in federal court Thursday afternoon.  A detention hearing is set for May 26, 2020, at 8:45 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.

The arrest and complaint were announced by Robert J. Bell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; and John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  The Oak Lawn Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shy Jackson.

The federal investigation remains ongoing.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

The drug distribution charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.