INDIANAPOLIS – A Bloomington man was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl from a source in California.
Jacob Magness, 23, received a sentence of 70 months in prison and four years of probation for the possession and distribution of fentanyl and other drugs.
Court documents report that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service was warned about a suspicious package on Nov. 1, 2021. The package was addressed to Magness’ home address in Bloomington with no return of address coming from California. The next day, Indiana State Police analyzed the contents of the package and discovered around 211 grams of fentanyl, 110 grams of counterfeit Xanax pills, and 4 grams of LSD.
Magness had ordered and tracked the drugs through social media.
According to court documents, on Nov. 3, 2021, the Bloomington Police Department arrived at Magness’ residence with a search warrant and found an additional 20 pills of fentanyl, around 13 ecstasy pills, 5 grams of cocaine, 11 firearms, and several high-capacity magazines.
“Fentanyl traffickers value profits far more than the lives they are putting in danger,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “They will use any means necessary, including the U.S. Postal Service, to satisfy their greed and exploit substance abuse. I commend the work of the USPIS, ISP, and the Bloomington PD in curtailing this defendant and saving lives in the process.”
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration even amounts as small as two milligrams of fentanyl can be life-threatening, depending on a person’s past usage, tolerance, and body size. A single kilogram of fentanyl can kill 500,000 people. Six out of ten illegal fentanyl tablets sold on streets in the country currently hold a potentially lethal dose.
“What we have here today is a perfect example of what happens when different law enforcement agencies pool their resources and expertise to achieve a common goal to protect the citizens of Indiana from illegal and dangerous drugs. It is our duty as postal inspectors to go after those individuals who attempt to ship illicit drugs through the US Mail. Our goal to protect the nation’s mail system from criminal misuse was achieved through our partnership with Indiana State Police and Bloomington Police Department,” Rodney M. Hopkins, Postal Inspector in Charge, Detroit Division said.
