Lancaster Man Sentenced to 14½ Years in Federal Prison for Using Drone to Deliver Fentanyl, Including to Customer Who Later Died from Overdose
LOS ANGELES – An Antelope Valley man has been sentenced to 174 months in federal prison for using a drone to drop off fentanyl and other narcotics to buyers, including to a buyer who suffered fatal overdose of the powerful synthetic opioid in 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division announced today.
Christopher Patrick Laney, 34, a.k.a. “Crany,” of Lancaster, was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald.
Laney pleaded guilty in September 2025 to one count of distribution of fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He has been in federal custody since October 2024.
Laney admitted in his plea agreement to knowingly and willfully operating an unmanned aircraft system to distribute fentanyl and other narcotics to buyers. One of Laney’s buyers suffered a fatal drug overdose.
Anthony Chrysanthis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, said, “These cases illustrate the measures to which drug dealers will go to profit from fentanyl with no regard to the harm they cause. No matter the tactics used by distributors to hide their actions (in this case by employing the use of a drone for making deliveries), DEA and the investigators with which we partner on this case will still seek them out, identify them, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Customs and Border Protection is leveraging advanced drone exploitation capabilities to support this investigation,” said Jonathan Miller, Executive Assistant Commissioner, CBP Air and Marine Operations. “Our teams are committed to identifying and disrupting criminal misuse of unmanned aircraft systems and will pursue those who endanger public safety through illicit activity like this.”
“Our community continues to feel the devastating impact of fentanyl, and traffickers show a complete disregard for human life, going to extreme lengths to distribute these deadly drugs,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna. “The use of a drone to transport narcotics is a reckless and concerning method that directly endangers lives and undermines public safety. We remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify those who weaponize technology to peddle this dangerous drug in our communities and hold them fully accountable for the lives they destroy.”
According to court documents, on January 17, 2023, Laney used an unmanned aircraft system, commonly referred to as a “drone”, to transport fentanyl from his house to a nearby church parking lot. Laney distributed the fentanyl to a third party that provided it to the victim, identified in the indictment as “J.K.”, who was found dead the next day after suffering a fatal drug overdose.
As captured on video footage taken by the drone, Laney used the same drone to transport and distribute narcotics on at least three other occasions in December 2022 and January 2023.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the United States Customs and Border Protection’s Center for Air and Marine Drone Exploitation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyle W. Kahan of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.
