United States Drug Enforcement Administration

DETROIT – Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge today announced that United States District Judge Jane M. Beckering sentenced Antjuan Pierre Jackson, 39, of Kalamazoo, to serve 324 months in prison for distribution of fentanyl causing death and possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it. Following his release, Jackson will be on supervised release for four years and will be required to pay a $2,000 fine.

“Fentanyl traffickers like Mr. Jackson are willing to risk the lives of their customers in order to make money peddling poison," said DEA Detroit Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Lawton.  "This sentence shows that these actions have grave consequences and should serve as a warning for would-be drug dealers.”

“Fentanyl continues to claim lives across Michigan and the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge. “Defendants who sell this poison and kill people in the process must be brought to justice. My office is committed to disrupting the pipelines that distribute these deadly drugs in our communities.”

At sentencing, Jackson was deemed a career offender based on his two prior convictions for unarmed robbery. In imposing sentence, Judge Beckering lamented the deep loss suffered by the victim’s family. She went on to characterize opioids generally as the number one cause of overdose deaths, remarking that fentanyl distribution is “a business that must be snuffed out.”

“Every opioid overdose, especially overdose deaths, are tragic, and it is a shame that Antjuan Jackson chose to be a part of dealing these types of lethal drugs, said Sergeant Brian Cake of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, a unit of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.  “The Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team hopes that this sentence serves as a deterrent for others continuing this criminal activity.”

The evidence at trial and at sentencing demonstrated that, on November 23, 2022, Jackson sold fentanyl to the victim. Within hours, the victim died of a fentanyl overdose. Still, Jackson kept dealing. Less than three weeks later, in December 2022, investigators found Jackson with more than 80 grams of fentanyl in his home, as well as all the hallmarks of drug trafficking, including cash, a digital scale, a cell phone, and packaging materials. When confronted by the police about his dealing, Jackson attempted to flee. As Judge Beckering noted in sentencing Jackson, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be deadly, and the amount of fentanyl Jackson had in his home included 43,420 potentially lethal doses of the drug

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigated the case with additional assistance provided by the Michigan State Police (MSP). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Carowan and Timothy Verhey prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.